Expectancy
by dmnq8
Summary: /"I'm fine," Naruto said. "Just hungry." Sasuke took his word for it./ Sequel to Tangency. M-preg. Disclaimers in my profile.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: As _Tangency_ began at a certain part in the manga, thus bypassing a ton of info we now have about Madara and his abilities, so does this fic. I guess it's AR. Regardless, Madara isn't the focus of this story, so hopefully it won't be that big an issue.

Enjoy. ^^

* * *

**Expectancy**

Chapter 1

_Sakura down, Kakashi down, and the shit down to the wire now. Just him and Naruto, as he'd known it would be. _

_Plus side: Madara couldn't use that Rinnegan anywhere near as well as Pain had; they had him by the short and curlies now, seeing as how Naruto had taken a huge chunk of Madara's chakra and nearly his entire left side; his ability to phase was becoming infrequent and erratic at best._

_Not-so-great-side: He and Naruto were hanging by a thread. A fucking thread. He could barely see, his eyes were killing him so bad. Overused his _Doujutsu_. And Naruto was fading fast, even full of Kyuubi as he was. _

_Rain, thunder, and lighting rocked and flooded their gorge. Fight had been going on for hours. He could scarcely stand, couldn't remember anything before the fight even. His entire mind, his whole being was drawn to a narrow point of focus: who had more juice left, him or Madara. Impossible to tell. Whatever happened, it would all be decided with the next move._

_The three of them stood weaving with fatigue in the downpour. Gauging each other. Calculating. Trying not to fall in the mud._

_A slight movement behind Madara, by his foot. Hardly more than another shadow in the darkened day. He saw it at the same time Naruto did, a split second before Madara himself became aware. He was already moving when Naruto shouted-_

"_Sasuke, now!" _

_-was already throwing himself forward, putting everything he had into the move, shoving the last of his chakra into his sword as Naruto dashed forward from his right-_

_He brought his sword down as Madara was twisting from the bite Moose had given him. Brought it down through Madara's retaliatory _katon_, a jutsu of staggering proportions. He saw his wide and horrified eyes when he burst through the flames, saw him bringing his hands up, already phasing…_

_Madara's skull parted with a hollow _thwok_ sound just as Naruto landed with _Rasengan_. They kept at it though the body fell, kept hacking, kept slamming that spinning sphere, mud and blood flying, until a weak hand landed on Sasuke's shoulder and stopped his screaming hysteria. Kakashi dragged him away, telling him that it was over. He had to hear it several times before he was able to understand the words. Was so numb in mind and body that he didn't even react to the fact that Kakashi's mask was torn and ripped away, exposing his face. _

_He lurched around, and Naruto was there, falling into him. _

_It was really over. They knelt in each other's arms with the rain cascading over them, coming to terms with that fact._

_-oOo-_

_Only hours before the deadline of a year was up, he and his exhausted team made it to Konoha's gates. Tsunade, the other Kage, and several Jounin were waiting. The rain was now snow, and they stood in it, still as death, as Team 7 arrived in a flat out run, too spent to call up the chakra to summon a toad, which would have been quicker._

_The remains he and Naruto carried between them were taken immediately to Tsunade's lab, a restricted room in the hospital, where she and Shizune got to work. The body was set on a stainless steel table. The Kage stood by with the Jounin and Team 7, watching. _

_It was grisly work, but a little over an hour later Tsunade pulled off her surgical gloves and met the eyes of everyone in the room. "DNA confirms it. Uchiha Madara is dead. Sasuke is hereby cleared of all charges. His life is his own."_

_A collective sigh of relief swept around the lab. Naruto turned to him with a tired grin, but he was in the process of quietly passing out._

* * *

Five months later…

"It's all there in the scrolls," Tsunade said quietly. "My correspondence with them, Shizune's DNA tests –I sent her to them to investigate. They are well and truly who they say they are. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter."

Sasuke heard her, but didn't look up from the sheaf of scrolls he was leafing through. Snatches of words kept leaping out at him. _Seven in all. Family of four. Two retired Jounin and their elderly aunt. _They were letters. Correspondence Tsunade had been engaging in with these people for the past couple of months. One letter in particular caught his eye and he read.

'_Our daughter, Sachi, has expressed a keen interest in meeting Sasuke. She's very dedicated to the clan, always has been. I'll spare you the tedium of outlining the many campaigns she's tried to start over the years, campaigns to bring justice to the Uchiha, and simply say that she's eager to meet Sasuke. We've been away from home, in hiding, for a long time. With your permission, Hokage, we'd like to return to Konoha permanently.'_

It was signed Uchiha Mamoru, presumably the girl's father. He stared at the letter for a long time, until he became aware of the silence in the office. Looking up, he found Tsunade and Shizune staring at him. Tsunade raised her brows.

"I didn't…" He had to wet his lips to go on. "I didn't know there were any survivors."

"Neither did I," Tsunade said. "I don't think anyone did, or that anyone remembered them being out of the village. They left the night of Kyuubi's attack, and only decided to come forward now because news of Madara's death is still making its way across the world. As soon as it reached their tiny village, they contacted me."

"I'm not the last one," Sasuke mumbled.

Tsunade smiled kindly. "No. It seems you're not. Though I find their existence to be a bit on the fantastical side. I'll be investigating them further, I assure you."

A sense of unreality washed over him, so that he stood and made his bow all in a disconnected state of confusion and distraction. He turned to go, but Tsunade stopped him.

"I've given my consent," she said. "They'll be here before the month is out."

Sasuke only nodded.

* * *

By the time he got home he was thinking clearly again. All sorts of ideas were spinning through his mind when he entered his house. What would they look like? Were they fighters?

Naruto was waiting. It was Sasuke's turn to cook dinner, or order it as they so often did. He went down the hall as Sasuke was locking the front door, and draped himself on his neck. "Food."

"Hello to you too," Sasuke grinned. He toed off his sandals, one arm around Naruto.

"Food. Now."

Sasuke shoved the scrolls he'd been given down the waistband of his pants and grabbed Naruto in turn. He hefted him with a grunt. "You eat too much. I can barely lift you anymore."

Naruto locked his strong legs around him and made a show of chomping down on Sasuke's neck. "Guess I'll eat you then. What'd Granny want? You were gone for hours."

The ticklish sensation of Naruto speaking against his neck had Sasuke hunching a shoulder. "You'll never guess." He began walking toward the back of the house.

"So tell me." More biting.

"No, guess."

"I want food."

"You always want food."

"Food and you."

Sasuke dropped Naruto on the kitchen table, which nearly snapped the poor thing's legs. It wobbled, but Sasuke steadied it.

He liked hearing how much Naruto wanted him. Especially since Naruto wasn't one to say the L word often. In fact, he hadn't said it since the night before they'd left for that mission. He leaned in now and kissed him, moving his head lazily as heat bloomed between them.

Naruto leaned back and dragged him down, but Sasuke broke the kiss. "What do you want to eat?"

There was a sigh of disappointment as Naruto affected a pout that looked ridiculous on him. "You have to ask?"

"Ramen it is, then." He straightened up, pulling the scrolls out of his waistband. "Same kind as last night?"

Naruto nodded, now reclining on an elbow.

"Back soon." He took the backdoor that led into the garden.

A second later, Naruto heard his feet land with a thud on the roof. He looked down at the scrolls Sasuke had tossed onto the kitchen table and picked them up. Sasuke's 19th birthday was coming up next week. He should get the bastard something. Maybe another rabbit, one to replace Moose.

Sasuke had taken Moose's death hard. It had been a sacrifice worthy of a ninja, he'd said. Naruto was inclined to believe that Moose had simply been miffed at having to spend so much time in the rain, and had opted to take his anger out on someone. Once back in Konoha, Kiba's sister Hana said differently. She'd said that given the nature of the symbiosis Sasuke'd had with Moose, it was likely the creature had been in possession of some understanding of what was going on, and had chosen to contribute in the only way he could.

The Society had given Moose a burial worthy of a Kage. One of their member brought flowers to his gravesite every week.

Smiling at the thought of another pet, Naruto opened the scrolls. He wasn't really interested in them, but he was bored, and Sasuke always took forever when he ordered ramen. He'd barely begun to read when there was a knock on the front door.

* * *

As usual there was a crowd in Ichiraku's. Sasuke was ushered to the head of the line and given Naruto's customary free quart of ramen, but he still had to endure people stopping him and greeting him, asking how he was, congratulating him on the good news. It never ceased to amaze him how quickly news traveled from the Hokage's office to the rest of the village, especially if the news concerned him or Naruto. He liked the attention, but resented the intrusion into his privacy. He had to stand and respond, return bows, answer polite questions, and thank people for their congratulations. It was an hour until he was able to extract himself, and by then the ramen was getting cold.

He warmed it on his way home using his chakra. Calling up that kind of heat in the muggy July evening had him sweating. By the time he got home, he was irritable, hot, and sticky. He went directly to the kitchen, yelling for Naruto.

Naruto was sitting in one of the two chairs at the table, slouched back, wrists stacked on his forehead. The way his blue eyes settled unblinkingly on Sasuke's face had him pausing in the doorway. "Hey."

No reply. Naruto gestured to the scrolls on the table with his chin. "Big news."

Sasuke cautiously entered the kitchen and set the soggy bag of ramen on the table, near the scrolls. "You read them?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Well…I guess it is big news." That didn't explain the hostility and nerves he sensed coming from Naruto.

"So…now what?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean now that you're not the only Uchiha, what does that mean? For us?"

"What would it mean for us?" Sasuke repeated. "Nothing. Why would it mean anything?" But he suddenly remembered the congratulations he'd received, and the little note Tsunade had written at the end of one of the letters from the family of four.

The chair legs Naruto had been rocking back on thudded to the floor as he folded his hands on the table. He stared at them, speaking in a would-be casual tone. "Oh, let me think. Seems those Uchiha are really happy to know they have a kinsman. Especially the family. Yeah, Granny wrote down there something about the girl being interested in a meeting with you." There was less anger now, and more nerves; Naruto's voice shook the faintest bit. "Why does she want to meet you so badly?"

Sasuke felt a line of sweat wend its way down his spine. "Naruto, look-"

"Sakura stopped by. Wanted to ask if it was true. If you were really planning on hooking up with some girl. Seems the talk in the village is that you're about to get married. Funny. I didn't hear any such talk. Did you?"

Carefully pulling out the chair opposite him, Sasuke sat and rubbed his hands on his pants. "Yes. But so what? People are going to think what they want to think, no matter what. I-"

Naruto looked up at him at last. "I don't give a shit what people think. I want to know if you're planning on rebuilding your clan. Was that an issue for you? Something you still planned on doing? Something you'd been _thinking_ about? Because if it is, you never told me. And I sort of think I'd deserve to know something like that seeing as we're together, and making a family would involve someone else. Someone not me."

The look of pleading hope on Naruto's face was hard to look at, but Sasuke made himself look. He was starting to get angry. "I never said I was getting married or hooking up with anyone, so lay the fuck off, all right? I always intended to rebuild my clan someday, you knew that. I just hadn't thought about it lately."

He saw Naruto's wide, handsome face crumble apart. The blue eyes turned glassy.

A feeling of sick, hot betrayal settled low down in the pit of Naruto's stomach, making his balls ache. He got up, walked around Sasuke, and started to leave.

Sasuke stopped him by reaching for his wrist as he passed, and standing up behind him. "Come on, you know I would never have done such a thing without talking to you first. And I didn't say I was going to do it."

Naruto wrenched his hand away. "It shouldn't even be a _discussion_, Sasuke. You sleeping with someone else, giving her a kid..." He hiccuped without turning around. The feeling was starting to climb, rising like an incoming tide up his guts and gradually eroding his insides in the process. He put a hand on his stomach and pressed, trying to settle the pain. "What I _know_ is that if _I'd_ come to you and said I wanted to rebuild _my_ clan, I'd be a dead man."

He finally stormed out of the kitchen and slammed the bedroom door hard enough to shake the house.

Sasuke flinched. _Fuck_.

* * *

Naruto paced back and forth for a minute, but eventually climbed into the middle of the bed and sat with his legs crossed. He shoved his hands into the pocket of space between his thighs and crotch and just sat that way, rocking back and forth in misery.

He couldn't even think at first. Sasuke going to someone else was just that…unthinkable. That he would _need_ someone else, that Naruto wasn't enough for him and couldn't give him everything he wanted…

Sasuke had a right to a family. That was the worst part. He couldn't tell him, 'No, you can't go have kids, you're mine and that's it.' As much as it killed him, and the burn in his belly was only getting worse, Sasuke had a right to a family. Just as he himself did. _But I don't want a family. I don't want anything but him._

He knew Sasuke. If the bastard wanted something, he found a way to go after it and get it. If he wanted a kid, he'd go to that bitch and fuck her, end of story.

-oOo-

Sasuke finally made his way to the bedroom, knocked, and poked his head around the jamb. Naruto was lying on his side and pretending to sleep.

* * *

The ringing of the bell was insistent. Neji, who happened to be closest to the courtyard, switched directions from heading to his room to walking toward the front gate. Whoever was out there was leaning on the bell. He sped up, then broke into a jog, then finally wrenched the gate open with his Byakugan blazing. He expected to be informed of an imminent threat to the village of some kind.

It was Naruto. He looked like shit, wheezing and choking on his own breathing, and his hair was dripping sweat.

"You said, back before that mission to kill Madara, you said that if Sasuke and me didn't work out, that if I ever got sick of him, that I could stay with you. You said that. You said-"

"I did, yes," Neji rushed to confirm. He'd said that before he and Sasuke had settled their differences, but the offer still stood. He leaned out past Naruto, looking up and down the road. He didn't see any sign of Sasuke. "Did something happen?"

"I need somewhere to stay. For tonight. Please." He was still breathing hard, making odd sounds in his throat, and his face was still shining with sweat.

Neji realized that the breathing and choking sounds were Naruto's struggle not to cry, and the wetness on his face wasn't all sweat. He stepped aside. "Of course. Come in."

"You won't…?"

"Sasuke will never enter this gate, you have my word."

Naruto seemed unsure of a sudden. "I know you guys are friends now…"

"So are we."

That settled it. Naruto ducked inside.

* * *

Sasuke waited all night, only to jerk awake soon after the sun rose the next day and realize he'd fallen asleep on the living room couch. He didn't need to move to know that Naruto wasn't home. The unease he'd felt last night solidified into full-blown fear. He sat up.

It occurred to him, with creeping certainty and no small amount of wonder, that he'd done something incredibly stupid. _Unforgivably_ stupid.

The prospect of some young, nubile Uchiha mother for his children had been an attractive idea. Not the girl herself or sleeping with her, but that the possibility existed for him to actually rebuild his clan. He'd given up that dream a long time ago. And then Naruto had come along and he'd given in to what he'd felt for him. That had seemed to put the entire matter to rest. He hadn't mentioned rebuilding his clan to Naruto because he _hadn't_ given it a thought.

But then suddenly the whole thing was possible, and it was such a shining concept, to have a family again, that he'd unthinkingly mentioned to Tsunade that the idea interested him. Especially since it seemed the family of four were having the same thoughts. It seemed like fate. What were the odds that Uchiha existed somewhere and that one of them seemed made for him?

Someone had leaked his response to people outside that office. And the news had spread. It was only later, after he'd woken up in the night and discovered Naruto gone, that he realized what utter bullshit the whole notion was. Fate was him and Naruto. Together. As tempting as the idea of a family was, it was not alluring enough to cancel out the abhorrence of touching someone who wasn't Naruto, or the sheer horror of hurting him so badly. He'd come to that realization too late, though; he'd already said to Naruto, quite carelessly, that he wouldn't do such a thing without talking to him first. As if the matter was up for discussion at all. He should have made it plain that the entire idea was impossible, as Naruto had stated, but he hadn't. He'd still been blinded by the prospect of a family.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

He got up now and made his way to the kitchen. The ramen was still sitting where he'd left it, now soaked through its thin container and leaking across the table. The scrolls were a sodden mess.

Sasuke abruptly lit ramen, scrolls, and table ablaze with a furious _katon_. He put the fire out before turning to leave, but honestly he was too pissed to care that he'd scorched the kitchen.

* * *

"Show him in," Tsunade said to Shizune's query. She set the report she'd been reading aside as Sasuke stormed into her office. "What-"

"I'm not interested in any arrangements with the incoming family," he said at once. "Make sure they know that. No arrangements, marital or otherwise."

Sitting back in her chair, Tsunade crossed her arms. "May I ask why?"

Sasuke was already leaving the office again, though. "Naruto," he threw over his shoulder.

* * *

He had a brief mission to Grass Country later in the day, but he spent the morning going to the houses of Naruto's friends, looking for him. Each one said they hadn't seen him. He wanted to explain things, to make up with Naruto and assure him that nothing was going to happen with that girl, but Naruto was nowhere to be found. He was forced to leave that afternoon without speaking to him.

_Maybe it's best we have a little distance, _he thought as he signed out of the village. _Give him a chance to cool down._

He wished this thought sat comfortably with him. While walking along the road leading from Konoha's gates, he looked back. He didn't like the idea of Naruto being so mad at him, or the fact that he didn't know where Naruto was. He knew one of the people he'd asked had to be lying, which they'd only do if Naruto wanted them to. And that hurt. It hurt a lot.

* * *

Hinata made soft, soothing sounds as she combed the blond hair back from Naruto's cheek and jaw. His heavy head was pillowed in her lap, the same as it was for most of each day and night, and her pants were wet through with the tears he shed off and on.

He'd shown up two days ago, a wreck. She'd happened to be in the main room of her father's house where Neji led him. Naruto hadn't said anything to either of them, just sort of dropped onto the couch with his head in his hands, but he'd looked so lost that she'd sat beside him. He'd keeled over sideways into her lap without a word, and there he'd remained. Sometimes she had to get up, tend to her Genin team, or perform other duties, but he would always be pacing the guest room he'd been given when she got back, and ready to nose himself into her lap if she sat down in his presence.

She looked up now and saw Neji standing in the doorway. "He's asleep," she whispered. "But if I leave him, he wakes up."

Neji entered the room and quietly shut the door. He came and stood over them, staring down at Naruto with his hands in his pockets. "Sasuke's looking for him. Came back yesterday and is combing the village top to bottom."

Hinata sadly shook her head. "Something's wrong with him."

"Who, Sasuke?"

"Naruto! His chakra is fluctuating wildly, and sometimes it manifests itself. I don't know if he's doing it consciously or not, or if he's aware of it…I don't think he is, but I think we should tell someone. Look at him, Neji, he's not well." Her face puckered into a frown of concern as she gazed down at the face she cupped with one hand.

Squatting on his heels, Neji took a closer look. "I thought he was upset over some argument or other?" Which had really pissed him off once he'd seen _how_ upset Naruto was.

Hinata shook her head again. "No. I think it's more than that. Did you hear some talk in the village about Sasuke taking a wife? New Uchiha discovered?"

Neji's brow cleared. "Shit. I swear, I'll kill Sasuke."

"He was so hurt that time we got him the house and Sasuke didn't show up. I can't even imagine how much more hurt he is now if Sasuke is planning on leaving him, but _look_ at him. I've never seen anyone grieve like this, and his chakra-"

He needed his Byakugan to see it, but once he had it activated, Neji understood what she meant. "God…what the hell?"

"I know! That's why I think we should tell someone."

"Don't," Naruto startled them by muttering suddenly. "Don't tell anyone I'm here."

Neji saw that he was mostly asleep still, but he put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You okay?"

"Fine."

"Not sick?" Neji pressed. "Your chakra is doing some odd things inside you."

Naruto forced his eyes open. It seemed like he lived in one big ball of pain and grief these days. The burn in his belly that first night had spread to encompass all of him, but after awhile he'd been able to tune it out. Sasuke. Every time he thought of Sasuke he felt even worse, and so tried not to think of him. He slept a lot instead. "I'm fine," he said again. He knew Kyuubi chakra was doing something in him, but he figured it was just a reaction from how upset he was.

_Even though you mastered Kyuubi a long time ago? _A voice said in his mind. _Maybe you _should_ get checked out. _

He pushed the thought away. He didn't want to think, or feel, or do anything but lie in Hinata's soft lap, and feel her soft hands in his hair, and hear her soft voice whispering to him.

"Sleeping again," Neji said in disbelief. He straightened up. "We'll give him another couple of days. If he doesn't come around by then, I'll get the Hokage."

Hinata nodded, already stroking Naruto's hair once more.

* * *

"Yo! 'Sup?" Kiba said this as he tipped some kind of crunchy snack into his mouth from a small paper bag.

Sasuke privately thought the stuff smelled like dog treats. "I need your help."

"Shoot."

"I need to find Naruto."

"Easy. He's at Neji's." Kiba shook the bag as he chewed, peering into it to see how much was left.

"What? But…how do you know? And how come you didn't tell me that when I stopped here a few days ago?"

"Because you asked if he was _here_. He wasn't." At seeing the narrowed glare Sasuke gave, Kiba added, "Plus Naruto's my friend too. Didn't think he'd appreciate me giving him up if he didn't want to be found."

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. That means Neji's been lying to me. Thanks, Kiba."

"No problem."

* * *

"I want to see him," Sasuke said when Neji opened the gate to the Hyuuga compound. "I know he's here."

"He wants to be alone," Neji said. He stepped outside the gate and closed it behind himself, clearly demonstrating that Sasuke would not be receiving an invitation inside.

"Look, what happened is between me and him, so-"

Neji took a step closer to Sasuke, cutting off his words. "You'd better consider yourself lucky that you and I are friends now, or I'd be calling you out. I don't care what happened between you two; when a friend I value shows up at my door too upset to eat or stand or even talk, I take his wants and needs into consideration. Now, leave."

It cored Sasuke from within to hear how badly Naruto was hurt. "I'm not going anywhere until I make things right with him. It's been five days…how can I help him if you won't let me see him?"

"When he's ready to see you I'm sure he'll let you know."

Sasuke considered staying. He really did. But Neji wouldn't hesitate to call in family reinforcements if it meant removing him from the premises. They'd come a long way and were friends now, but they weren't so close that Neji would take his side over Naruto's. A fact Naruto knew, or he wouldn't have chosen Neji, Sasuke assumed.

He turned and slowly made his way home.

* * *

_He felt loose and dreamy. Disconnected. His body hurt so much now that he was almost numb. Ignoring the pain so long, and Sasuke, had left his mind adrift. Conversation came and went around him, but he hardly registered it._

"_...Naruto-kun?"_

"_Is he any better?"_

"_Oh God. Neji, I'm worried…he won't answer me now."_

"_His chakra is manifesting again…get away from him, Hinata."_

"_We have to tell someone."_

"_I agree. It's been six days. Sasuke was here yesterday-"_

_The mention of Sasuke's name had an extra sharp twist of pain knifing through him, and he heard himself moan. Sasuke…_

"_-Wanted to tell him that I have a three-day mission that I have to leave for. I'm already late. Will you sit with him while I'm gone, Neji? Please?"_

"_I'm not holding his head in my lap. And anyway I'm going to get the Hokage right now."_

"_But if we're both leaving, he'll be alone!"_

"_Only for a few minutes. For however long it takes for her to come back with me. Thirty minutes tops."_

_Then there was quiet. That sharp knife of pain was still twisting in him-_

Sasuke

_Pushing him from his half-conscious daze-_

Sasuke

_Forcing his eyes open so that he sat up with a gasp- _

SASUKE

And now it seemed he couldn't keep from thinking of Sasuke at all, though he tried hard to recapture his previous oblivion. Every part of his mind, every atom in him strained toward that one thought, that one goal. It was every want he'd ever had, every need. An imperative-

**SASUKE**

So that he found himself exploding through the ceiling, through the roof, and bounding along other rooftops. He barely registered that it was night, or that people were turning their heads from where they walked in the streets to follow his progress. He stretched out his hand to yank himself to a higher roof and saw that his chakra _was_ showing, just as he'd heard someone mention. He didn't care. The image of Sasuke, the idea of him, was like a great fiery hook in his loins, pulling him onward faster and faster. Something clambered at the back of his mind…

'_stop…stop, you must stop!'_

But the voice was so small. It didn't hold a candle to the elemental need to get to Sasuke _now_.

* * *

He'd finally conked out face first on the bed, lying across it in a sprawl of utter exhaustion. After leaving Neji's, he'd hoped that news of his visit would have somehow been passed along to Naruto, and that Naruto would then come to him. He'd waited. Already operating on days of sleeplessness, though, he'd ended up passing out not long after getting home. Now he was deep in dreamless slumber.

Nevertheless, his nerves twanged out an urgent alarm. It brought him to consciousness in seconds, and had him turning over, Sharingan activated, in search of a threat.

Naruto stood in the bedroom doorway. Hunched over, with one hand clutching his mid-section. He appeared to be in chakra mode.

Sasuke sat up at once, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Naruto?"

Naruto blinked at him. The need to-

_-mate-_

-get to Sasuke was still pushing him, still trying to override everything in his mind, but he resisted. Barely. He forced himself to speak. "You…you said you'd never break my heart. _Sasuke_…"

He was off the bed and across the room in a flash, gathering Naruto to him before the wail had properly started. Naruto clung to him. His enhanced strength all but strangled him, but he didn't let go. That blond head snuffled into his neck. Pushing, seeking. He felt small nips to his throat, but withstood it. Circled Naruto's head with an arm, and held him tightly. "I know. I'm sorry. I should never-"

Sasuke was speaking to him, but he didn't hear much beyond the fact that there were no plans to hook up with any girl. He glutted himself on Sasuke's smell, the feel of being in his arms. It was a while before he felt the pain he'd been living with begin to fade. That burn that had taken up residence in his innards dulled to a low throb. Something barely noticeable. And suddenly his chakra was tucked away again, sucked back into himself. He kept still, letting Sasuke soothe him and apologize, as he became more alert and aware than he'd been in what felt like ages.

"Naruto? Say something. Say you hate me, or…or that you'll never forgive me. Something."

Lifting his head, Naruto met his eyes. "Touch me. That's all I want. I don't care about the rest, just…just touch me, please. I want to forget."

Sasuke could agree. Wholeheartedly. Naruto was rank, but he leaned in and kissed him without hesitation.

-oOo-

For a wonder it wasn't great. Just okay. Naruto seemed distracted, and Sasuke was left inundated with guilt; if Naruto wasn't into it, then he wasn't doing it right. Or Naruto was still angry with him. Naruto rolled over once it was over, to leave Sasuke cold and afraid. He didn't respond to the hand Sasuke put on his shoulder, nor did he want to be cuddled. Sasuke thought they could reconnect now that they'd touched, but apparently he was wrong. Eventually he rolled over as well, so that they were back to back.

By the time sleep came, the sun was rising.

* * *

Naruto woke with uncommon clarity of thought.

Usually he muddled his way to wakefulness. He'd sit up half asleep in bed for a good twenty minutes, then shuffle his way to the bathroom where he spent another 30 minutes half conscious on the toilet. It normally took him an hour before he was able to be up and about and responding to people.

This time his eyes opened with none of the fuzziness he was accustomed to. He lay blinking at the window. The quality of light suggested it was late afternoon, nearly sunset. He could feel and hear Sasuke sleeping behind him…

Sasuke.

The thought of him called up a wealth of resentment. For a second he couldn't remember why, but then he did. Some long lost Uchiha family coming. A girl. Sasuke hooking up with her. There was more. Memories of going to Neji's, of having Hinata's soft voice and soft hands comfort him tried to surface, but they wouldn't quite come. _That_ part was fuzzy. The rest, though… actually, he didn't want to think about it. "Fuck this." He swung his legs off the bed and went to the bathroom.

-oOo-

When he came out Sasuke was leaning against the wall beside the door. "Hey."

Naruto walked past him and into the kitchen without answering.

To see the table reduced to a pile of scattered ashes and scorch marks on the wall pulled him up short…but not for long. He banged the cupboard doors open and closed, searching for something.

Sasuke watched from the kitchen doorway. "Can we talk?"

"Nothing to talk about." He jerked the fridge door open and leaned in.

"Naruto-"

"Fuck, isn't there any food in this house?" The fridge door was slammed shut hard enough to rock the thing.

"Like I said last night…I'm not meeting her."

Naruto paused in the act of opening an overhead cupboard again, his back to Sasuke. He had no memory of last night, or anything that was said.

"I'm not getting married, or meeting her family, or making any babies," Sasuke said quietly.

Now Naruto turned around and leaned his ass against the counter, hands gripping the edge. He didn't look up. "I see."

"No," Sasuke said, taking a few steps closer. "You don't. And I told Tsunade."

"But-" Naruto rocked back and forth a bit, clearly trying to find the right words. "You deserve a family. I can't keep that from you."

"_You're_ my family. Not these people."

"What?"

"Those people might be blood, but they're not family. They didn't fight for me or believe in me or chase me or drag me back from the brink of death. You did. So yeah, I'm not meeting them. Not if it hurts you like this."

Naruto raised his eyes by slow degrees until he was looking at Sasuke. "That's…I appreciate that. But you _wanted_ to rebuild your clan. You've always wanted to."

Sasuke thought about it as he looked at Naruto's face. The blond brows were puckered in confusion or hurt, and Naruto's eyes weren't as vibrant as usual. "I'm coming to realize that a lot of things I used to want aren't important anymore."

"You're telling me your clan isn't important? Since when?"

"Since I gave it careful thought. Was forced to while you were gone. The Uchiha had their day. Time goes on. Nothing lasts forever. I _don't_ want to rebuild my clan. Don't want the responsibility, or to deal with the knowledge that for as long as the Uchiha have been around, so has strife and hatred. Maybe they got wiped out for a reason. Don't get me wrong, I think what happened to my clan was criminal…but it did happen. And I don't think it's up to me or anyone else to try and resurrect what was."

If Naruto thought he'd been shocked before, Sasuke's latest words took the cake. He stood there, mouth slightly open, as he took in what Sasuke was saying. He felt certain that this wasn't a sentiment Sasuke could have had prior to the trial and taking Madara out. Sasuke had settled down considerably now that the wrongs done to him had been righted. He was truly at peace.

However.

"I just don't want you to change your mind somewhere down the road about wanting a family, and think that I was the one who prevented you from having one. I don't want to be the thing that killed the Uchiha return-"

Sasuke walked up to him and put his hands up as if he were going to cup Naruto's cheeks. He changed his mind at the last second and let them fall by his sides. "Are you kidding me? You _saved_ the Uchiha. Saved the name from going out in complete ignominy by saving _me_. You redeemed me, Naruto. Allowed me to make sure that the last surviving Uchiha would leave a better mark on the world. That's enough. That's more than I can repay in a lifetime. The Uchiha are done. It's over. It was done when Tsunade banished the council. I say let sleeping dogs lie. This-" And now he did touch Naruto's face. Softly, with one fingertip. "This is all I want."

A tiny smile tugged at one corner of Naruto's mouth. "Yeah?"

"Yes."

"You're sure."

"Positive."

"So…no girl then?"

"No anybody. No one but you."

Naruto let out a great shuddery sigh. Looked down at his feet. Nodded. Sasuke touched a hand to the side of his neck in question and Naruto went to him. Went into Sasuke's arms and buried his face in one muscular shoulder as they closed around him hard.

There were a few blissful minutes wherein Sasuke did grab Naruto's face and they kissed. Naruto was only interested in Sasuke's mouth, but Sasuke kissed every part of that whiskered face he could reach. Naruto's eyes, his cheeks, his chin, his nose. Everywhere. Until the connection between them clicked back into place and he felt the anxiety he'd lived with all week finally unravel. He pulled back with a sigh and let his forehead rest against Naruto's. "I'm sorry," he said again. "For everything."

Naruto closed his eyes. "It's okay."

"Okay." Sasuke once again became aware of the fact that Naruto stank. "You okay?"

"Starving."

"Where were you? I mean you were at Neji's, but what were you doing? Didn't you eat?"

"…No. And nothing. I wasn't doing anything, I don't think."

Sasuke leaned back to see his face. "You don't think? What, you don't know?"

"No," Naruto said slowly, his frown matching Sasuke's. "I _don't_ know. I think Hinata was there? And Neji a little bit. But I didn't eat, I know that."

"When's the last time you ate?"

"Last time I was here, I guess." He looked around the ruined kitchen.

"But why? What were you doing over there? Were you…were you that upset? That you couldn't eat?"

Naruto's brows came together in a V of concentration as he studied his bare feet. They were filthy. "I think I remember not feeling well."

"_Sick_? You're never sick."

"I know." The frowning blue eyes made their way to his face.

Sasuke remembered how Naruto had looked last night, when he'd woken up to find him in the bedroom doorway. "How do you feel now?"

"Okay?" Naruto shrugged. "Stomachache, but I'm starving, so." He looked around the kitchen again, as if maybe there was food lying around.

"But-"

Naruto suddenly pushed off from the counter, shoved past Sasuke, and made a beeline for the bathroom. Sasuke followed more slowly, still frowning at the knowledge that Naruto had been sick. So sick he hadn't eaten. When he got to the bathroom, it was to find Naruto thoughtfully flushing the toilet. "What is it?"

"Huh?" Naruto looked up at him, then down at the toilet again. "Nothing. Just…I think this was the first time I've used the bathroom, too."

"I see." Sasuke studied him. Naruto didn't look thinner or weaker. Just a bit grimy. "Want me to get Sakura so she can check you out?"

"Mmm….nah. I feel fine now."

"Sure?"

"Yup." Naruto bent close to the medicine cabinet and inspected his face in the mirror. "Can you get food, please?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll be back soon." He hesitated in the doorway, though.

Naruto sensed his concern and turned to give him a reassuring smile. Then he went to him and pecked his lips. Pecked them again, lingering longer this time. "I'll still be here when you get back. And I'm _fine_. Okay? Just hungry."

Sasuke took his word for it.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: As always, thank you to everyone who took the time to review. Especially those who do so without signing in. I can't respond to them the way I do the others, but I'll give them a little shoutout here: **Giuntronvo**, **Lily**, **Rei**, and **thehotnerd**...whom I actually know. ^^ Thank you, and a big thank you to any 'guests' who took the time to share their thoughts.

* * *

Chapter 2

There was loud knocking on the door that evening, scarcely an hour after Sasuke returned with as much food as he could carry. When he pulled the door open and found Neji, he was inclined to slam the thing shut again…but Tsunade was standing behind him ,with Shizune. The Hokage had her arms folded, and an expression of zero patience on her face. Sasuke stared between her and Neji. "What's this?"

"Is Naruto here?" Neji asked. He seemed anxious. "I've looked everywhere else. People said they saw him coming this way last night."

"He's-"

But apparently Tsunade sensed Naruto in the house. She pushed past Neji and Sasuke both, Shizune on her heels, and entered without an invite. Sasuke wisely chose to keep his indignation to himself and followed her.

-oOo-

Naruto sat on the living room floor, tipping yet another ramen container to his head as he drained it of broth. Empty containers were all around him, as were the bones of a whole chicken, and several empty juice cartons. When he saw them, he gave a crooked smile, but reached for the last ramen carton and opened it. Once he'd dipped his chopsticks in, nothing else existed as far as he was concerned.

Tsunade grunted. "Naruto."

"Mmfh?" He didn't look away from the contents of the carton.

"Can you tell me what happened this past week?"

"Fmmf. Shnnck." He chewed vigorously. Stuffed his face with another dripping mouthful of noodles and beef.

"I didn't catch that."

Naruto swallowed. "Felt sick." He dug busily into the carton with his chopsticks. Shoved more noodles into his mouth.

"Shizune."

"_Hai_." Shizune went forward and plucked the carton out of Naruto's hands.

Naruto said nothing, but his eyes followed the carton and stayed on it while Tsunade tried again. "Neji says you were ill. Quite ill."

Naruto continued to chew for another minute. Swallowed. "Yeah. I guess. Can I have that b-"

"Can you tell me your symptoms?"

"…No? I mean…I don't really remember." His eyes were glued Shizune's hands.

Tsunade was silent a moment. "Neji?"

"He got to my place in a lucid frame of mind," Neji reported. "But he deteriorated quickly. In and out of consciousness. Chakra manifesting several times. Fluctuating. He seemed like he was in pain. Wasn't responsive to his name being called."

"And that continued for the entire time he was at your house?" Tsunade asked, her eyes never leaving Naruto.

"Yes. He also smashed right through my roof."

"So I saw."

Sasuke felt a cold chill pass along his skin. He jumped when he was addressed. "I'm sorry?"

Tsunade finally looked at him. "I said how did you find him when he came home last night?"

When he'd brought the food home, he'd found it amusing the way Naruto had attacked it with such single-mindedness. He'd guessed that not eating for a week would drive anyone to extreme behavior, but now he wasn't so sure. He responded to Tsunade's question slowly, seeing the way Naruto never looked away from the carton Shizune held with new eyes. "Pretty much just as Neji described. His chakra was manifested, and he didn't seem too coherent."

"And this morning?"

"We slept till a little while ago. He woke up fine, I think. He said he was fine. What's wrong with him?" Now he looked at Tsunade. At Neji.

Tsunade ignored the question. "Did he go to bed the way he came in? In that state?"

"No," Sasuke said. "He…we…I…touched him. Held him. Spoke to him, and then he was okay."

This seemed of interest to the Hokage. She turned her back on Naruto to give Sasuke her undivided attention. "Is that right. I think you should start at the beginning. What put him in that state in the first place?"

As embarrassing as it was to speak of their private business in front of so many people, the idea that something could seriously be wrong with Naruto scared Sasuke sufficiently so that he complied.

"Did you two engage in intercourse last night?" Tsunade asked when he was done.

Sasuke's cheeks stung. "Yes."

"Did it pain him?"

"Didn't seem to."

Tsunade at last turned back to Naruto. She unfolded her arms for the first time since entering the house and approached him. He sat staring at the carton Shizune still held. "Naruto?"

No answer. Not even a glance in her direction.

Sasuke took the carton, ignored the Hokage's frown, and went to where Naruto was sitting. He held the ramen out. Naruto took it and began eating.

Tsunade watched him intently for several moments. "Uzumaki Naruto."

"Hmf?" He looked up at her.

"How do you feel?"

He chewed, swallowed. "Fine?"

"You seem inordinately hungry."

He looked into his carton. "Yeah."

"In pain?"

"No." Another huge mouthful.

"I'm going to examine you."

No answer this time. Tsunade rolled back the sleeve on one arm and squatted beside him. She'd been sensing some disturbing vibes from him from the moment she set eyes on him, but now, when she extended her hand to him, she could actually feel it. She let her hand hover an inch from his forehead. It was like being near an electrical current. A small hum of opposing chakra beat against her palm, but his chakra wasn't engaged. Not that she could see, anyway. She didn't need Neji's Byakugan to tell her that Naruto's chakra was probably fluctuating inside him. After another minute of thought, she let her hand rest on his forehead, without accessing her own chakra.

The things Neji and Sasuke described alarmed her more than she let on. And Naruto's current behavior suggested that whatever _had_ been wrong wasn't gone. His chakra throbbed against her hand, all the way up to her arm, but she could see no visible trace of it. Working carefully, she called up a small amount of her own chakra, the better to delve him. Only a trickle, nothing more.

Naruto's chakra swelled and lashed out almost before she could pull her hand away. The bright flash of it had her snapping her head aside as she hastily stood. Her entire body tingled from the backlash.

Sasuke lowered his arm from where he'd thrown it over his face, and saw that Neji and Shizune were doing the same. Neji had his Byakugan activated.

Tsunade took a careful step back from Naruto, who either hadn't noticed what just happened, or didn't care; he was still eating. "Neji," she said again without turning around.

"His Tenketsu are…glowing. The entire chakra pathway seems overloaded. His chakra is doing _something_, but I can't tell what."

Tsunade nodded as if to herself. "Sasuke. Go to him, let me see what happens."

More frightened than he could remember being, Sasuke went. He knelt beside Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder. Naruto gave him a look, a brief smile, then kept on eating.

"Can you access your chakra while touching him?"

The hand on Naruto's shoulder grew warmer. "Yes."

"No reaction," Tsunade murmured. Her eyes drilled holes into the bowed blond head. "All right. You can stop, Sasuke. Come into the hall, all of you. Leave him there."

-oOo-

When they were all gathered in the hallway Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, but the Hokage cut him off. "I don't think he's contracted an illness," she said, frowning at Shizune. "My guess is we're looking at something psychological."

Sasuke knew naked fear. "What do you mean? I fucked him up somehow by…by letting him think I'd go to some girl? Even for a second? I apologized! He accepted it! We're _fine_ now! What's _wrong_ with him?"

Tsunade studied his wide eyes, and the way he was beginning to hyperventilate. "I don't know," she admitted. "But whatever it is, it's entirely to do with you. I can't see or sense any ailment. My touch on him was brief, but I got that much. Obviously I'd have been able to learn more with a proper examination. He doesn't want me touching him and that's clear."

"Do you…I mean can you examine him again? Please?"

This time they all stared at him. "No," Tsunade said. She glanced behind herself at where Naruto was now sucking the marrow out of the chicken bones. "Whatever's going on with him won't allow a foreign chakra source near him. Neji's right, though, his chakra _is_ doing something, and likely expending large amounts of energy in the process. Hence his appetite." She looked back at Sasuke, who seemed ready to attack someone, anyone, without the slightest provocation. "He seems fine otherwise, or I'd haul him into the hospital. For now, keep feeding him. And give me daily reports."

"Wha-"

"_Daily_, Sasuke. In detail. Am I clear?"

Sasuke's teeth snapped shut with a click. "Yes. I will." He looked over at Naruto.

She looked at Naruto too, for a long time. Brows knit, she said, "I really_ do_ want him brought in, though. The single-mindedness of his appetite and the way his chakra surged like that…" She shook her head. "I'll give it a week. If there's no change by then, I'll want him where I can delve him properly, his wishes be damned. Until then, I want those reports, Sasuke." They all left a few minutes later.

Sasuke slowly went into the living room, where Naruto seemed to decide that he was done eating. The bones were completely gone. He looked up at Sasuke. Glanced at the hallway. Back at Sasuke. "Anymore food?"

* * *

For the next three days, Sasuke performed what felt like an endless loop. He went to Ichiraku's, came home, watched Naruto eat, then went back. All day. A good part of each night. The night hours wherein most restaurants were closed were the worst. Naruto would sit cross-legged in bed and rock back and forth, alternately complaining about how hungry he was, or that his stomach hurt. Beyond that, he really couldn't seem to think. He didn't respond to most questions except with the request for more food. And while he was eating, he didn't respond at all.

Sasuke watched Naruto eat. As in, he scrutinized each thing as it went into Naruto's mouth, watched the way he chewed, swallowed, chewed, swallowed. Studied the mindless, literally _mindless_ attention Naruto gave to the food he was eating. It was as if Naruto's consciousness was absent; all that was left was the elemental need to eat.

It was terrifying for the simple fact that _something_ in Naruto's body was requiring this amount of food. The thought that feeding Naruto also fed whatever illness he had came to Sasuke more than once. But he couldn't _not_ feed Naruto; even with as much food as he was bringing him, Naruto's cheeks were starting to become hollow.

Which, when it came down to it, meant that if Naruto didn't eat he might die.

He left that out of the reports. All he wrote to Tsunade was that Naruto still seemed to be hungry and that he was feeding him. He was afraid that if the Hokage saw Naruto now, she'd take him and do something to him. He wanted to get a handle on this himself, first. Or at least try to. The week wasn't over yet. All he had to do was keep feeding Naruto.

But when Naruto actually left the house to raid the nearest restaurant himself, Sasuke felt as though things had reached a head. This was more than some passing thing. Naruto refused to budge from the restaurant, demanding more and more food, until his stomach finally rebelled and he threw up all over the counter. Sasuke forked over all the money he had on him, promised to pay what he owed, and dragged a cursing Naruto home.

As far as he was concerned, discovering what was wrong with Naruto was now a mission. As such, he applied himself to the job with the full weight of his intelligence and determination.

At the end of those three days, while Naruto was sleeping fitfully during those hellish nighttime hours, he took a moment to consider the things the Hokage had said. Namely that Naruto's body was expending vast amounts of energy. Such was Naruto's hunger that he became unresponsive when in the presence of food. Sasuke reasoned that if Naruto's body needed more energy, then he would need to eat something of greater nutritional value than noodles. For that, he needed help.

* * *

"Sasuke?" Chouji opened his gate wider. "This is a surprise. Come in, come in." When they were both in the courtyard, Chouji folded his hands over his stomach and gave a pleasant smile. "What's up?"

Sasuke was brief.

To his credit, Chouji first listened with silent attention, then asked detailed questions. No unnecessary blabber about what had happened to Naruto or how this all came about. When Sasuke was done, Chouji rubbed his chin in thought, staring at the ground. "It sounds similar to the Akimichi ability of calorie control. We convert fat to chakra; Naruto doesn't have fat, so he needs to take those calories in through food in order to sustain whatever his body's doing. Do you know _what_ it's doing?"

"No. But whatever it is, Tsunade couldn't touch him with her chakra."

"Hm. Not sure that tells me anything. And if you don't know what his body's trying to do, I can't know just how many calories he needs. Well, he needs to eat. That much _is_ clear. If he doesn't get those calories, his body could be brought to a catabolic state…which isn't far off, from what I'm hearing. I'm guessing Kyuubi chakra would prevent that, but again that would require an intake of energy. Calories." Chouji abruptly put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Don't look so worried. You came to the right place. Let me give you something to help him in the meantime, while I do a bit of research. Okay?"

"Thank you." Sasuke briefly hung his head.

"No problem. Also…can I come over? See him for myself? It would give me a better idea-"

"No, please," Sasuke said gratefully. "Please come over, I could use all the help I can get at this point."

"Give me five minutes." Chouji ran into his house.

* * *

They arrived to find Naruto prowling the living room. The moment he saw them, he went to Sasuke and pawed at him. "I'm hungry," he whined. "And I don't see any food with you. The fuck, Sasuke, I'm fucking _starving_." He shoved away from him in annoyance and ran a hand through his hair.

Chouji slung the sack he was carrying off his shoulder and knelt on the floor. He took several items out, but held up a small pouch when Naruto turned to investigate. "These should help," he said to Naruto's questioning look. "For the time being, anyway."

Naruto went to him and plucked the pouch off his palm. He looked inside. "What are they?"

"In layman's terms…food pellets. What they actually are, are concentrated doses of nutrients and vitamins that are extremely high in calories."

Naruto held up one pellet. It was the size of a grape. "This isn't food. I want _food_."

Chouji leaned his elbows on his knees and looked up at him. "Normally one pellet is enough to keep a strong ninja going all day. For you…" He ran his eyes over Naruto carefully, studying the more prominent cheekbones. "I'm going to say eat five. Go ahead. Eat them and see how you feel after ten, fifteen minutes."

He and Sasuke watched as Naruto shook a few pellets into his palm and tossed them into his mouth. He crunched on them for a moment. "Blech," he shuddered. "They taste like shit." But ten minutes later the frown he was wearing smoothed out and he looked at the pouch in speculation.

"Better?" Chouji asked.

Naruto was digging in the pouch for more pellets. "It's weird. I'm not even close to full but I'm not quite as hungry as before, either. How many of these can I eat?"

"Take another five, then let me see."

Naruto did as suggested. Sasuke watched as Naruto seemed to relax for the first time in days. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"Well…"Naruto put a hand on his stomach. "I want to feel full, but I don't. I'm not _as_ hungry… but, like, I still want something to eat."

"Good," Sasuke sighed. "That's good. You're talking now, which is even better. Dude, what is _wrong_ with you?"

Naruto blinked at him absently, already looking into the pouch for more pellets. "What do you mean?"

"I _mean_ why the fuck are you so hungry all of a sudden? What was up with you blasting Tsunade with your chakra? Are you sick?"

Naruto listened to all of this as he slowly chewed another pellet. They really were repulsive. He had a vague memory of Granny asking him something the other day, but for the rest… "Chill out, man. You act like I've never been hungry before. Didn't you say the other day how I always want food?" He popped another two pellets.

Sasuke stared. "Naruto, do you remember being at Neji's house?"

"Mmm…kinda?"

"How long were you there?"

A shrug. "I don't know…a day or two?"

"What's today's date?"

"Dunno." A few more pellets found their way into his mouth. The pouch was empty.

"_Naruto_."

"_What_."

"Something is going on with you, and we can't figure out what it is. Do you remember ingesting something, or someone attacking you when you were away from the house?"

Naruto stared into the empty pouch until it was snatched from his hand and his face roughly grabbed. Sasuke angled Naruto's head upward so that he could look down into his eyes. He tightened his hands on Naruto's cheeks until Naruto blinked. "Attacked?" Naruto said. "What."

Sasuke dropped his hands and backed away from him. "You are seriously scaring me right now. If this is some joke you need to quit." He thought for a minute. "Are you still mad at me?"

A tone of surprise colored Naruto's voice. "No. Why?"

"Because I feel like this whole thing started when we argued. You haven't been right since."

"Can I have something to eat?"

Chouji watched the entire exchange with narrowed eyes. He came forward now and handed Sasuke a list. "Get me those things," he said quietly. "I'll sit with him."

-oOo-

When Sasuke slipped out the door, Chouji went to where Naruto was staring at the empty pouch on the floor. "I have something else for you to eat," he said. "Over there." He pointed to the things he'd taken out of the sack.

Naruto only saw food. He went and sat before the spread without a word and began eating.

Chouji paid close attention. They were the highest calorie foods he could lay hands on in short notice. Things from his own fridge. Naruto wolfed through it all, then spent some time devouring the ten-pound bag of assorted nuts that he'd also brought. The nuts were probably the best. Had the most calories. When the bag of nuts was done, Naruto finally leaned back on his hands and gave a protracted belch.

"Naruto? You okay?"

Naruto tipped his head back until he was looking at Chouji upside down. "Feel like that's the first time I've eaten in years. _Now_ I'm nice and full."

Chouji noted that statement and set the timer on his watch.

"I wasn't attacked," Naruto went on. "I remember that much. And I was at Neji's a few days I think. Don't remember the thing with Granny at all. Wow…Sasuke's right, I _have_ been out of it. I mean, I heard when he asked me about all that just now, but it was like my mind was going _foodfoodfoodfoodfood_ and I couldn't think." He gasped as this seemed to hit him for the first time. Turned over and got to his feet so that he was facing Chouji. "What's wrong with me?" His eyes were very wide.

"I don't know. But your chakra is doing something inside you, something that's burning off a ton of energy. Overriding your thought processes. Putting you in an instinctive state. Sasuke's scared shitless."

Naruto was scared himself. He covered his open mouth with a hand. "Are you kidding me? I…I'm really _sick_? Fuck…" He looked around. "Where _is_ Sasuke?"

"Sent him to get you some proper food. As handy as the pellets are, they're not designed to be ingested non-stop. Naruto," He stepped closer to Naruto and was relieved to see that he was still alert enough to meet his eyes. "Can you assess yourself? Tell us what's going on inside you?"

Naruto tried. He really did. He even went so far as to close his eyes and take several deep breaths, trying to quell the panic in his mind. _What's happening to me? What-_

There. It wasn't much, but he could definitely feel his chakra being active. More than that, it was drawing Kyuubi's chakra as well. Some kind of…fusion…was in play, some amalgamation of his chakra and the Fox's. When he tried to separate the two, pain shot through his body, sharp enough to bring him to his knees.

"What happened, are you okay?" Chouji was bent over him, a hand on his shoulder.

He had to grit his teeth until the pain subsided. Several realizations hit him at once as he stared unseeingly at the floor.

One, his chakra was active without his direction. Two, Kyuubi's chakra was involved without his direction. Three, something other than himself was controlling his chakra, ergo him.

He didn't speak to the Fox often, but he forced himself into a state of mind where he could do so now. Or he tried to. He was getting no response. In fact, he couldn't even sense the demon…and that was a first.

Naruto opened his eyes and stood up as calmly as possible. He was shaking.

Chouji was staring at him anxiously. "Well?" he said. "Do you know what's happening?"

"No. But I am fucking _scared_." He explained about his chakra just as Sasuke walked back in with two clones, both of whom were loaded with shopping bags.

Sasuke went to him immediately. "What? Both yours and the Fox's? But what's-"

"I don't _know_ what's happening to me," Naruto said testily. "But when I tried to separate the chakra it felt like…like a tag went off in me. The pain was intense. Like every atom in my body was trying to explode."

Sasuke rubbed a hand down his face, then switched to running it through his hair. "Was it concentrated in any one place?"

"No."

"How about now?" Sasuke pressed. "Are you still in pain now?"

Naruto considered it. "Not really. Just an ache in my stomach. Here." He put a hand over his abdomen. "It's fading, though. Not as bad as it was before."

"No. No, you said your stomach was hurting before too, remember? The day after you came back from Neji's? In the kitchen? You've been saying it off and on for days, actually. Is it the same kind of hurt?"

"…Yeah. I guess it is, but it's not a major thing. It's always there. I can barely feel it now."

"What do you mean it's always there?" Sasuke said.

"Like…since we argued? Before I went to Neji's. It's been hurting since then, but I think I was in more pain at Neji's. Look, none of that means shit, okay? The thing I'm freaking out over is the fact that some _thing_ is in me, using my chakra. Without my permission. _Something is IN me!_"

That had them all blinking in horror.

"Do you know for sure if there's something?" Sasuke asked when he could speak.

"Chakra doesn't just use itself," Naruto snapped. "Something needs to be directing it. _I'm_ not directing it."

"And Kyuubi-"

"I can't even sense him! It's like there's some kind of wall between me and him. Can't reach him at all."

Sasuke put a hand over his eyes. Then he went to Naruto, where they clung to each other. Chouji, looking on in sympathy, said, "Should we get the Hokage?"

A tremor went through Naruto. He had his face buried in Sasuke's neck, but he said, "No. Not yet. Now that I'm…"

Chouji and Sasuke waited, but Naruto's face went slack. "Now that you're what?" Sasuke said. He rubbed a hand on Naruto's back, but Naruto pulled away.

"I'm hungry again."

Chouji stopped the timer on his watch. "Forty minutes. And that was after 20 food pellets and the stuff you ate. Means you're burning calories at a rate that I can't even calculate. Sakura probably could. Over a thousand calories a minute, that's for sure. Well over. Sasuke, you get the charts on that list?"

"Uh, yeah." He left off staring at Chouji to disperse his clones and rummage through the bags. "Here." He handed over a clipboard with blank charts on them.

"No, you hang on to those. From now on you're going to document what he eats, what time he eats it, and how much of it he eats. Record his downtime –the times he's not hungry- and which foods give him the longest downtime. I'm going to go ahead and feed him." He went to the shopping bags, and carried them all into the kitchen. Sasuke and Naruto followed.

* * *

Chouji stayed the night. And the next day. Sasuke followed his instructions to the letter. Between the two of them they were able to at least get a handle on Naruto's hunger, and establish regular downtime. Chouji fed him one massive meal of calorie-dense foods in the morning, which took Naruto a good two hours to consume, and another in the evening. Naruto was able to have about eight hours of lucid downtime in between, and sleep comfortably at night.

"But the amount of calories he's taking in is crazy," Chouji confided to Sasuke on that second night. Naruto was sleeping. "It's enough to fuel three large families. _Akimichi_ families," he added. "The worst part is that I don't even think we're meeting his needs. I think we're doing a lot better, but his chakra, or Kyuubi's, is probably making up for any lack. At least his cheeks aren't hollow anymore."

At this point, Sasuke decided he needed more information. With Naruto's permission the next day he brought in Neji.

-oOo-

"And when I tried to separate the two, my body reacted pretty painfully," Naruto finished. "None of us knows what's going on, least of all me."

Neji listened to the entire tale, after he'd explained to Naruto what he and Hinata had seen while he'd been at the Hyuuga estate. Now Neji covered his mouth with a hand and appeared to think. "All right, I'll try. But I'm not sure I'll see anything different from when I tried last time."

"Tsunade gave him a week," Sasuke said. "The week is up tomorrow. I've been sending her daily reports, but I didn't tell her what Naruto said about his chakra, or that it hurt when he tried to disrupt it, or any of the rest of it. She doesn't even know I brought in Chouji. We just want to know if there's something in him, some parasite or something."

Neji snorted. "You honestly think there's something in him that could withstand Kyuubi chakra? That could manipulate it?"

"_We don't know,_" Chouji, Sasuke, and Naruto chorused.

"But it _is_ using my chakra," Naruto said.

"And it has an appetite," Chouji added.

"And all we want you to do is try," Sasuke concluded. "Please. I'm begging you. Before we take him to the Hokage tomorrow, just tell us if you can see anything."

Neji spent a long time scrutinizing Naruto's chakra pathways. Even went so far as to have Naruto try separating his and Kyuubi's chakra again, which made Naruto curse in pain. He was left panting in the aftermath. Sasuke steadied him with a hand on his shoulder, where he and Naruto sat on the couch. "Well?" Sasuke said when Naruto was calm again. "Anything?"

"No." Neji shook his head. "His pathways lit up like fireworks when he tried to separate the chakra, but that was it. I don't see anything else." After a moment he added, "It would help if I knew what I was looking for. I don't see anything untoward in his bowels, but that doesn't mean the parasite, if there is one, isn't there. It could be small. However, if this thing has the appetite you've described it would be big enough to see. Or so I imagine. Besides, all his organs are suffused with chakra at the moment. Probably because whatever's happening to him is putting stress on his entire body. Makes differentiating things pretty difficult." He shrugged uncomfortably. "I can interpret chakra as well as any Hyuuga, but I'm no medic. Certainly no expert on human anatomy."

"Fuck!" Naruto wailed. He dropped his head into his hands.

"Maybe you need other senses besides visual?" Neji offered.

Chouji agreed. "It's that or just take you to Tsunade now." He checked his watch. "We've got about an hour before your hunger kicks in again."

"No." Naruto sniffled. "I'm scared she might, you know, make me feel worse in the name of trying to help me."

Sasuke looked at Chouji and Neji, who were standing. "Who'd you have in mind?"

"Kiba," Neji said.

"Sakura," Chouji countered.

Sasuke looked back at Naruto, feeling his throat close up with panic. He rubbed one hand over the spiky mess of Naruto's hair. He didn't know if he was trying to soothe Naruto or himself, but he suddenly pulled Naruto's head to his chest and held him tightly. Naruto put an arm around his waist, turned his face into Sasuke's body, and gave a tiny, muffled sound of misery. "Get them both," Sasuke said. "Now."

* * *

Naruto was eating by the time Neji made it back with Sakura and Kiba. All of them stood grouped in front of Naruto while he gobbled his way through steaks, chickens, bags and bags of nuts, rice galore, and pitchers of fresh fruit juice. And his food pellets. Sakura and Kiba were filled in while they watched.

Sakura had a finger to her lips in thought, but Kiba nodded his head and went over to sit beside Naruto. They all felt when his chakra spiked as he concentrated it to his nose. He took a good long whiff of Naruto.

They waited.

Kiba leaned back, frowned at Naruto, bent for another sniff, then turned puzzled eyes to the rest of them. "He smells…weird."

Sasuke clenched the hand he had on his chin. "Weird how?"

Kiba looked back at Naruto, who looked nowhere but at his food. "Like…a bitch. I mean…no, don't look at me like that, Sasuke. He smells like women who are…you know. Ripe."

Sasuke needed a good three minutes to translate this. "Ripe for what…wait. Bitch? He's in _heat?_"

There was a nervous titter from everyone but Sasuke. Kiba likewise refrained from laughing. He was tipping his head back and forth. "Not quite. More like the tail end of it? He might have been in heat, say, a week ago. I take it this is the first time it's happened?"

"Why don't you tell me," Sasuke said between his teeth. "I'm not the one who's been living in this village for the past five years. _Is_ this the first time he's gone into heat? Can people even do that, go into heat?"

"Some of the women in my clan do," Kiba shrugged.

"But not the men."

"No. It's more like a female's heat will put them into a rutting state of mind."

"Naruto's not in heat," Sakura spoke up. "That would necessitate a bond with an animal who does go into heat, a bond of sufficient strength and duration so as to make such a phenomenon possible for the human. Naruto doesn't have one." She gave Kiba an admonishing look, as if he should have known that.

"But he has that bond with Kyuubi," Chouji said uncertainly. "Doesn't he? Kyuubi's an animal."

"Kyuubi is chakra," Sasuke corrected.

Naruto was done eating. He belched, leaned back, and closed his eyes as if he'd just run a marathon. "Kiba's right," he said after a minute. "I didn't remember it till just now when he was talking about it. Don't know if I was in heat, either, but when I left Neji's it was like I had to get to Sasuke and fuck. _Had_ to."

"Had to what?" Sakura asked. "Get to Sasuke or…have sex?"

"Both. It was like if I didn't fuck him _right_ _then_ I'd have died. And it had to be Sasuke."

Sasuke ducked his head in embarrassment. The others exchanged uncomfortable looks.

"Tsunade-sama didn't tell me anything about your case," Sakura began. "But what you're saying is really strange. Mating signals like that typically occur for the opposite sex. For females, when they're fertile. It's what allows a species to perpetuate itself. Yours directed you to Sasuke, though, and now you're-" Her eyes widened as they ran over him with more scrutiny. "No. That's…impossible. There has never been a case of-"

"I'm not a case!"

"A case of what?" Sasuke asked her. "You know something? Tell us!"

Sakura was silent a minute. "I'm not sure. In fact, I don't _know_ anything. But…let me see what I can discover. All right?"

"Fine." Naruto rubbed his palms on his thighs.

"You nice and full?" she asked, trying to smile.

"Yeah."

"Then I hope you won't resist my chakra the way everyone's saying you did Tsunade-sama's."

Naruto concentrated. When Sakura came at him with her hand glowing, he was fully alert and aware. So when he felt his chakra surge within him the moment she touched him, he tried to call out a warning, but Sakura was already pulling her hand back. "I didn't do that," he rushed to say. "I swear."

Sakura was looking deep into his eyes. "I know," she said.

"Wait, that didn't hurt you?" Neji asked. He had his Byakugan activated. "Because your body did nearly the same thing it did when you tried to separate the chakra."

"I mean, I felt it," Naruto said, looking at them all. "But it didn't hurt like that time. Just felt like a quick zing."

"And nothing happens when I do it," Sasuke added. He put his glowing hand on Naruto to demonstrate. "See?"

Sakura was still staring at her former teammate. A boy she knew very well. Better than anyone else knew him. Better than he knew himself. "Naruto? We're not waiting till tomorrow. We're going to Tsunade-sama now."

"But why?" he said. "She's going to do things to me. Unpleasant things. I just know it."

"Because," Sakura said gently. She paused to word her explanation in a way that didn't reveal her suspicions. At least not all of them. She wanted him cooperative, not terrified. "I think whatever's in you might be sentient. It drove you to Sasuke, and allows his chakra near you. It could be dangerous. It could kill you, Naruto. It's already using your chakra and Kyuubi's to sustain itself, and I'd rather not give it any more time to make its foothold in you more secure. So which do you think is worse: Shisou properly diagnosing you -and possibly curing you- or some nameless thing eating you from the inside out?"

Naruto shot off the couch. He was the first one out the door, with everyone else on his heels.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: To those who've reviewed without signing in- **Lily, MegaAnimeFreak7, Maria, Rei, Ovicati, Rankinhyde, Koda**- a great big thank you. ^^**Lily**, especially...I'm glad to have won you over. I hope I continue to hold your interest with future chaps. And to the 'Guest' who commented...I thank you too.

And now, onward. ^^;

* * *

Chapter 3

"Tsunade-sama is in surgery," a Chuunin at the Hokage offices informed them. "I'm told she isn't to be disturbed." Sakura spoke to him quietly for several moments before suggesting they all go to the hospital to wait.

They ended up waiting for several hours. The whole night, in fact. Sakura kept checking with the medic-nin on staff to see when the surgery would be over, until one finally told her that The Fifth had left the hospital an hour ago.

Naruto groaned. Sakura cursed loudly and fluently in a manner reminiscent of her Genin days.

-oOo-

They caught Tsunade as she was locking up her office. She stood with her arms folded while each of them made their reports. Chouji went first, followed by Sasuke, Neji, and Kiba. Sakura went last. While she spoke, Sasuke frowned at her. It had seemed to him like she'd arrived at some theory back at the house. He hadn't wanted to question her then, with Naruto present and so obviously nervous, but now he thought he saw her give Tsunade a meaningful look. One the Hokage returned with a steady look of her own. He could find nothing incriminating in Sakura's report; she didn't say much beyond what she'd just told Naruto back at the house and summarizing Chouji's report in a more technical manner.

"Show me the charts," was all Tsunade said when they were done.

Sasuke handed over the food charts.

She took them and flipped through them one by one. Sasuke was watching her face very closely. It was faint, but he saw the minute way her eyes widened, saw the way her mouth tightened, and how she went back over certain parts several times. When her eyes looked over the edge of the reports to spear Naruto, he felt it as a hard punch to his own gut. He groped for Naruto's hand and felt it clench his with a frightened, sweaty grip.

But then she looked at him. "You've kept a lot out of your reports to me, Sasuke."

"I know. You gave us a week. I wanted the chance to try and manage whatever was going on, to try and help him on my own."

"We were fucking scared," Naruto blurted. "_I'm_ fucking scared."

Tsunade finally closed the reports and glanced at Sakura. "Find Shizune. Have her meet me at the hospital." When Sakura sped off to do this, she returned to looking at Naruto. To Sasuke, it seemed like her eyes were analyzing him with the full intensity of her medical background, while her mouth gave a small smile and said innocuous things. "Scared?" she said to Naruto in a voice that was decidedly playful. "Why on earth would you be scared of me? You and I have history together. Have I ever hurt you?"

To everyone's shock, Naruto's face crumpled and he started crying. It wasn't noisy, but still. To see a full-grown man, albeit one who was still a boy in some ways, suddenly lose his composure was unsettling enough. That it was the eternally buoyant Naruto made it worse. He hung his head. "I just don't want something to be seriously wrong with me," he whispered. "I've never been sick before. Like, ever. Hurt, yes. Sick, no. Sick people die. I don't want to die."

Sasuke released Naruto's hand to hug him hard then and there. Naruto clung to him. "You're not going to die," he swore.

Tsunade watched this in silence a moment, her mind clearly still operating much faster than theirs. "Bring him," was all she said. She turned and began walking.

-oOo-

There weren't many people at the hospital at that hour. Tsunade led the way through a back entrance Sasuke had never seen before. They walked down a wide corridor that had a few gurneys against the walls. A medic ran around a corner up ahead, but that was it. Sasuke kept hold of Naruto, who was beginning to sag in his arms. "What's wrong?" Sasuke whispered. Naruto was dragging him to a stop and starting to gasp. Tsunade pulled ahead. He saw her use a key card to open a set of frosted double doors. The words _Restricted Access _were printed on them in bold black letters. When the doors opened, he could see an operating room. _That's the room she examined Madara's body in._

"I'm _hungry_," Naruto said. He stopped walking altogether.

Sasuke looked at him helplessly. "But you just ate!"

"Actually, that was hours ago," Chouji stepped up and whispered. "His morning feeding is due. I brought some food. Wasn't sure how long we'd be gone. It's not much, though. Didn't think we'd be gone _this_ long."

Sasuke's eyes went from Chouji, to Neji, to Kiba, and saw the same serious look of worry on all their faces. It helped. Having them there helped. Made him feel less like shit was spiraling out of control. He reached for the bag Chouji held out, already expressing his thanks.

"Don't feed him," Tsunade called out. She was waiting by the double doors. "Bring him in here so I can examine him while he's in that state. I need to see exactly what's going on."

Sakura jogged up with Shizune then. They all moved toward Tsunade, but the latter held up a hand. "Just Naruto, Sakura, and Shizune."

Naruto latched on to Sasuke's hand. Sasuke wordlessly stepped in front of him, as if to state that anyone who wanted to get at Naruto would have to go through him first. Tsunade briefly closed her eyes for patience, but gave a small nod.

* * *

When the doors shut behind them, Chouji looked at Neji and Kiba. "Guess we wait." He frowned at the bag of food he'd brought. "I seriously hope he's okay."

"It's Naruto. I've never known him _not_ to be okay," Kiba said.

Neji put his hands in his pockets and turned to lean against the wall opposite the doors. "Well he's definitely not okay now."

Chouji noticed the Byakugan. He and Kiba drifted over to stand on either side of him. "Can you see what they're doing to him?"

"Whatever they're doing, Naruto's losing control," Kiba said darkly. "I can smell it from here."

* * *

That much was true at least. Tsunade had Shizune lay Naruto down on the table, while she went to the scrub room. Sakura went with her. Shizune had Naruto remove his shirt and pants, leaving him to shiver in his boxers, then joined them.

Sasuke stood at the head of the table and gave a bracing smile down into Naruto's wide eyes. "It's going to be okay," he said. He put his hands on Naruto's shoulders, trying to warm the chilled skin, and made his voice as reassuring as possible. "You'll see."

"Okay. But I'm hungry. So hungry. You have food?"

Shizune came back at that moment, and put a hand on Naruto's arm. His eyes went to her. "You can eat when we're done," she smiled.

"Food. Now," Naruto said, dismissing her. He tried to sit up.

-oOo-

Watching from the window of the scrub room, Tsunade frowned. "Your suspicions?" she asked Sakura. "You seemed to hold something back when you were making your report."

Sakura spoke as she too watched Saskue trying to calm Naruto down with words. Shizune was now physically trying to restrain him. "I'd rather not say, Shisou. I could be wrong, and I don't want to cloud your own assessment. Besides, it's pretty far-fetched."

"I've never doubted your judgment." When Naruto kicked Shizune across the room, Tsunade left the scrub room.

-oOo-

"Food, I need food, I need to _eat_, I'm fucking hungry, _food_-" Naruto muttered over and over.

Sasuke had him in a full nelson, grunting at the effort of keeping Naruto from leaving the room. They were on the floor, the table kicked askew. "Sakura," Tsunade said.

Between the three of them, they hauled a wildly struggling Naruto to the table that Shizune righted, and held him down. The bulk of the muscle it required to do this came from Sakura and Tsunade. Sasuke tried to hold his head still.

Tsunade peered into Naruto's face, leaning close to do so, and called his name several times. "Naruto. Look at me if you can hear me." There was no response. Naruto's body continued to strain mightily against her efforts. She noted that while she and Sakura employed their chakra to hold him down, his own chakra wasn't reacting. A fact that lent credence to whatever had hold of Naruto being sentient; it knew when chakra was being directed at it and when chakra wasn't.

Naruto was salivating heavily. Drool gathered at the corners of his mouth to run down the sides of his cheeks. It flew from his lips with his harsh breathing. His eyes were open, but he seemed to see nothing.

"Examining him while he's like this is impossible," Tsunade grunted. "Shizune, bring in Chouji, then send for Yamanaka Inoichi immediately. Maito Gai as well." She thought for a moment. "And Karin."

Shizune left on the run. Chouji came bustling through the double doors a second later. Kiba and Neji could be seen in the corridor, hurling questions at Shizune as she ran past them.

Everyone but Sasuke backed away as Chouji reached into his bag and withdrew a fistful of food pellets. Naruto was sitting up on the table now that he wasn't restrained, shaking and snarling in the extremity of his hunger. His canines lengthened as they watched, dripping saliva. Chouji approached him as he would a wild animal: leading with the food pellets, hand outstretched. He waved the pellets back and forth beneath Naruto's nose. Once, twice, until Naruto caught the scent and his head swung toward the hand. He reached for the pellets with a small whine of need, and stuffed them into his mouth.

Chouji worked quickly, while Naruto was occupied with the pellets. "We've gone a bit past his scheduled feeding time," he said as he took the rest of the items out of the sack and set them between Naruto's spread legs. "So there's a deficit of calories in him. What I have now won't be nearly enough to put him back on track." He looked up when the bag was empty. Naruto was devouring one bowl of food after another. "I need to get more. Now."

"Do it," Tsunade said. She was watching Naruto eat with a frown of concentration on her face.

He left. Sasuke went to stand by Naruto's side.

-oOo-

Shizune returned with the individuals she'd been sent after before Chouji did. When Chouji did return, it was with a few clones, all of them carrying food. Naruto had settled down slightly, but was already getting fidgety again by the time he was led off the table by Sasuke. Chouji had his clones set all the food on the table, covering it, while Sasuke wheeled a stool over for Naruto to sit in. Naruto began eating again immediately.

Tsunade went to the three newcomers and filled them in, in detail. "Karin, I want you to tell me what you sense his chakra doing. Right now, while he's eating."

"_Hai, _Hokage-sama." She closed her eyes to do this.

"I'm going to try again once his hunger's been neutralized," She told Gai and Inoichi. "But in case his strength is still an issue, you'll need to hold him down, Gai. And I'll need you to see if you can enter his mind, Inoichi." They nodded, worry puckering their foreheads as they all turned to watch Naruto.

-oOo-

Well over an hour later, Naruto straightened up on the stool with a groan of satiation. Chouji hastily cleared the discarded food containers and wrappers, while Sasuke helped Naruto climb onto the table again. Shizune scurried over and assessed him. "Tsunade-sama…he's going to sleep," she said.

"He usually sleeps after his second feeding," Chouji said. "But I guess since he didn't sleep last night..." He shrugged.

Tsunade, noting how fatigued Naruto seemed to be, hurried over. "Keep him awake. Karin, stay sharp. Naruto?" she called when she was at his side. She bent over him and he opened his eyes to look at her. "Can you understand me?"

"Yuh hm." He blinked sleepily and yawned.

"I need to examine you."

"Will it hurt?"

"I hope not. Can you control your chakra?"

"Not really. I can try?"

"Please do." Tsunade worked quickly, rolling back her sleeves. "Sakura, stand on his other side and be ready to follow orders."

"_Hai_."

But the same result happened when she tried to delve him. He apologized, and she tried again, again, and again, until she leaned her hands on the table and bent her head in thought. "Gai. Inoichi."

It was disastrous. Gai and Sakura held Naruto down, while Inoichi held his palms just short of touching either side of Naruto's thrashing head. Tsunade, determined, placed her palm on Naruto's head, and tried to withstand the backlash of his chakra for as long as possible. Long enough to get a read, to see something. Anything. When Naruto's chakra began switching to yellow, and the burn became unbearable, she broke the contact with a gasp. "Fall back," she panted. "Everyone fall back."

Sakura and Shizune set about healing the two elder Jounin.

"I can feel his mind there," Inoichi said through a wince of pain. "But the moment someone's chakra enters him, a defensive wall surrounds it. I can't get through. It's the same sort of wall that was in place while he was eating. I…peeked, Hokage-sama. To see what could override his consciousness like that. His body is sending off some very powerful signals to his mind."

Tears leaked down the sides of Naruto's head. He stared at the ceiling, hands fisted by his sides while he breathed as heavily as everyone else. "I'm sorry," he said. "I tried. Tried to hold still, to hold my chakra in, but I can't. It's doing that all on its own. What's happening to me? Am I dying?"

Everyone watched helplessly as he covered his eyes with a forearm. His body was wracked with silent sobs.

Sasuke, who'd stood back to give them room, went and sat on the table beside him. Naruto sat up to hug him. He rested one wet cheek on Sasuke's shoulder and seemed to take comfort from the way Sasuke closed his arms around him and rubbed his back.

Tsunade remembered Sasuke's account of Naruto calming down when they had physical contact, and got an idea. She motioned for the rest to stay where they were as she went to the table and sat behind Naruto. Sasuke watched her over Naruto's head. "What-"

"Keep your hands on him," she said. "Don't let go of him." She coated her hand with chakra.

"That's not going to work," Sasuke said. But he tightened his hold on Naruto.

"Access your chakra," she said, ignoring his statement. "I'm going to give you a crash course in Mystical Palm."

Sasuke listened carefully. It was a lot harder than her words made it seem, necessitating a level of control he wasn't used to employing without high-level jutsu. But he was attentive. And he was determined. He managed an acceptable version of it after many minutes, and placed his glowing palm on Naruto's back, as he was instructed. "Will I hurt him without meaning to?" he asked. "I'm no medic."

Tsunade, moving with the utmost care, placed her own glowing hand beneath Sasuke's, also on Naruto's back. "That you aren't. But you won't hurt him. He has no reaction to your chakra. If whatever is in Naruto is aware, as Sakura has suggested, then it can differentiate between friend and foe. Clearly it sees you as a friend. Your chakra is present to…confuse it, I suppose you could say. Distract it from my own. It's good that you're clumsy; makes your intrusion louder, if you will. I, however, am the opposite. By comparison I am as silent as a mouse. Let us hope my subtler approach goes unnoticed."

"What kind of parasite is sentient?" he asked. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"That remains to be seen." She could feel Sakura and Shizune drifting closer, but she didn't dare open her eyes and break her concentration. "What is he doing?" she asked them in a low voice.

"Sleeping," Shizune whispered.

Tsunade breathed an inward sigh of relief and bent her entire mind to examining Naruto at last.

No one moved. Though Tsunade was bent to Naruto's back for over an hour, no one moved a muscle. Sasuke held Naruto easily, alternately dropping absent kisses in his hair, and trying to decipher the stern frown on Tsunade's face. He didn't dare interrupt her by asking, but the longer she remained so still and quiet, the higher his dread climbed. _Is there really some creature inside him? _

When Tsunade pulled her hand away, and lifted troubled eyes to his, Sasuke thought he'd go crazy. "What? What is it? What's in him?"

"Gai, Inoichi, Chouji…in fact, all of you may leave." She got off the table as if drained of strength. "Karin, I will speak to you in the hall for a moment."

-oOo-

Sasuke was left alone to hang on to Naruto for his own comfort now. "You're fine," he whispered into the bright hair. "Fine, fine, fine. Oh God. Fuck me, I can't lose you. Fuck. _Fuck_." He buried his red face in Naruto's hair, shaking them both as he was hit with a sudden sense of panic. "I will do whatever it takes, kill whoever I have to, to keep you with me. To save you. If Tsunade can't heal you, then I swear to God I will. _Fuck!_"

The hand on his back had him whirling with Mangekyo in place, ready to annihilate the first threat to cross his path.

It was only Tsunade. The fact that she held out a box of tissues seemed to confirm his worst fears. He shook his head slowly, fresh tears making it past his battle for control.

Tsunade made a clone. Sasuke stared at this, never having seen her perform _Kage_ _Bunshin, _until the clone took Naruto from his arms and began leaving with him.

"Wait, where are you taking him?" Sasuke said, wiping his face. "He doesn't leave my sight."

"I need to speak with you," Tsunade said quietly. "And I would prefer to do it in my office. I can be sure of warding the room from eavesdroppers. Naruto is sleeping. He'll be sleeping for hours. My clone will take him home and watch over him until you return. All right? No one else will go near him. You have my word on that. Naruto's case is now top secret."

He'd been staring at the incongruous sight of her smallish clone bearing Naruto's burly weight out of the room as if it was nothing. That phrase did the job of putting his attention squarely on her. He left off staring at the doors to pin her with a glare. "Tell me what's wrong with him. Now."

"Not here."

"Is he dying?"

"I can't say. But my professional opinion is no. I don't think so."

And that was good enough for him. "Lead the way."

* * *

The streets were deserted. It was only upon seeing this that Sasuke realized how late it truly was. Early, in fact. The sun had risen. The village was almost completely rebuilt, and the new structures glowed. It lent the air a sense of serenity. As if nothing untoward could possibly happen. Nothing major could take place. Nothing could turn his pleasant new life upside down. Naruto couldn't die.

The Hokage building held a few Jounin guards, nothing more. Tsunade led the way to her office in silence, entered, shut the door behind Sasuke, and put her hands together in a seal. She spoke a few words, then released her hands. Sasuke both felt and saw the way her chakra radiated outward from her in a ripple effect that disappeared against the walls and door. The room was now warded.

He shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably at feeling her chakra wash over him. "A pity you didn't do that when I was in here discussing that family with you. Someone blabbed their fat mouth. I feel like that whole incident is what started Naruto off and made him leave the house. Went and got himself infected with something." He dropped into one of the chairs before her desk as she went and sat behind it. "How bad is it?"

"His illness?" She sat back and studied him closely. Her eyes appeared dark in the light of the one lamp. "I'd say of the utmost severity."

"But he's not dying you said."

"I don't think so, no. But it's hard for me to be sure, since I have no idea what the outcome of this will be. Sasuke…" She paused and chose her words carefully. "I need you to tell me of the argument again. Try to remember the exact words used, if you can."

"Why?"

"Because I think it has a direct bearing on his condition."

"But-"

"If you expect to hear what's wrong with him –and understand what I tell you- you'll do as I ask, Sasuke."

Sasuke stared at his lap to think, but the argument came back to him with greater detail than he would have believed. Hurting Naruto like that had etched it into his mind. Once he'd recounted it to Tsunade's satisfaction, he sat back and closed his mouth. He wasn't saying another word until he got some information in return. His black stare said as much.

She reached into her desk and pulled out a file folder full of papers. "I've been thinking where to begin," she said, opening the folder. "And I think this is a good place to start. I have here the report Naruto made of your time in the woods. Specifically the wound you received and Naruto's part in healing it." She read several paragraphs and shook her head. Snapped the folder shut, and looked at him. "Do you remember receiving that wound? The precise moment?"

"Yes." He found it hard to look away from her eyes when they stared at him like that. As if the golden orbs new things. Things he'd rather not know yet _had_ to know. "I remember."

"When it happened…what did Naruto do?"

"Isn't it there in the report?" Was it hotter in the room?

"What happened, yes. Not the fine details. If I'm asking a question, Sasuke, you may assume it's because I don't already have the answer. If you truly have an interest in helping Naruto, you'd do well to remember that. And to remember that I have very little patience, if any, under the best of circumstances."

_In other words, stop bullshitting, _Sasuke translated. He looked down at his lap again and swallowed, calling up that day nearly two years ago. "When it happened, Naruto tried to go after Madara. I called him, I think. He held me."

"When did he employ his chakra?"

"The moment he saw I was hurt, as Madara was getting away."

"So it was active when he held you?"

"Yes."

"And then what happened?"

"Oh. Before he held me, he wanted to get you or Sakura, but I made him stay with me. Told him to hold me. I knew his chakra had healing properties, even if he didn't. Direct contact with it was my best shot at survival."

Tsunade leaned forward, her eyes sharpening. "_That_ I didn't know. That Naruto was unaware of his chakra's capabilities." Her eyes lost focus a moment as her brows came together over a new thought. "But no. That boy might not know much, but he does know the ins and outs of his body. And his chakra. To the finest degree, in fact." Her eyes refocused on him. "Why did you say his chakra had healing properties? Had you witnessed something before that day? Something other than Naruto healing himself?"

He told of the earlier encounter with Madara. "It didn't heal me to the degree it did later, but it did help."

"And he was carrying you at the time, you said? After he'd repeatedly offered to do so?"

"Yes." Sasuke waited to hear how this was at all relevant.

Tsunade let her eyes drop to the report once more. Opened it and reread a few lines. Shook her head. "You shouldn't be sitting there right now. That wound was fatal."

"Naruto's chakra healed me."

"No, it didn't. Chakra by itself doesn't heal. There has to be some direction behind it, as with anything we want chakra to do. Naruto's chakra is, however, vastly more potent than our own. And it has mystical properties, if he's using Kyuubi's chakra. Which is just to say that it can do more of what normal chakra can, and to a greater extent. So, on the one hand you have chakra, and on the other you have a directive, or will. Put the two together and you achieve a result."

Sasuke blinked. "I know this."

"Good. Then you should also know that Naruto's directive, his will, is…for lack of a better term, unparalleled. I have never seen anyone achieve the impossible so many times through sheer will besides him. His will is a force quite equal to his chakra, almost a separate thing in and of itself. When you have a will like that directing chakra like Naruto's…" She spread her hands towards Sasuke and left the rest unsaid.

"So I'm a miracle. Is that what you're saying?"

"I would say so. An impossible miracle."

"You just said Naruto regularly does the impossible. So what he does can't be _that_ impossible. I'm sure someone else with enough chakra and will could have healed me. Right?"

"No. The things Naruto has done _are_ possible, generally, for people on a higher level, or who've been trained more…that sort of thing. I used that word more to illustrate the strength of his will, but really what he's done with you is more than impossible. It simply _cannot_ be done in nature. Period."

"But I'm here."

"Yes. You are. Naruto has reshaped the laws of physics with his chakra and the force of his will. Do you understand that? Do you understand what I mean when I say he has reshaped the laws of physics?"

"Yes…" A chill snaked down his spine. "No one else could have saved me?"

"No." Seeing the doubt that lingered on his face, she tapped the report in front of her. "Let me give you a better example. When Naruto's chakra healed you the first time, while he was carrying you, he had no idea that his chakra could do that. Yet it _did_ heal you a bit. After hearing your account of the incident, I'm almost positive it's because he was feeling a certain amount of empathy toward you at that time. You were weak. Unable to walk. Hurt. Naruto's emotions are closely linked with his chakra and what it can do. What it enables him to do. So while he was feeling compassionate toward you, his chakra behaved in a similar manner. For lack of a better way of putting it. Let us move forward now to when Madara gave you that wound. Naruto's emotions were understandably chaotic at that time. He was terrified of losing you, holding you during what I'm sure he thought would be your final moments. His chakra was fully engaged at that point, correct? And linked with his emotions as I'm sure they were, they followed those dictates. He held onto you physically, and his _chakra_ held on to you. Isn't that what you said? That he held you for quite some time before he knew his chakra was keeping you alive?"

"…Yes."

"_Before_ he knew. So. Imagine how much more potent that healing capability became when he did know. Once you told him, you felt a change. You said so yourself."

Sasuke thought he was beginning to see. The hair on his head was trying to stand on end, and his heart was beating hard and fast. "What's happening to him? Did he do something to himself?"

Tsunade leaned forward to put her elbows on her desk. She studied her folded hands and chose her words with the care of one diffusing an explosive. "I think the possibility of you leaving him for a girl affected him deeply. I think he saw and heard only one thing. That you wanted children. From my examination, I saw that his organs have shifted. Karin confirmed my findings by saying that Naruto's chakra was in a constant state of flux. The fusion it's achieved with the Bijuu's chakra was undergoing a continuous cycle. Sustaining something new, that it created. I won't bore you with medical terminology, but suffice it to say that a housing cavity has been formed in Naruto's body, attached to his duodenum. Such a thing would kill a normal man, but this is Naruto. The…power…needed to reshape a body's physical make-up, to create a new organ and sustain it, is beyond any word I know to describe. His body is a machine, performing a task that is flat impossible in nature, and maintaining that task day in and day out. Without pause. He needs to eat because the machine needs fuel. I cannot compare the sheer amount of fuel required for such a phenomenon to anything in our experience…but if I were to try I would say it's as though he is healing twenty of you of the same wound you received in the woods. At once."

Sasuke sifted through the words, trying to understand. "A housing cavity? So there _is_ something in him?"

"Yes. And it's aware, as we believed, though barely formed. The cavity itself is still very small, no bigger than half the length of my thumb, if that. I sense the cavity is comprised mostly of chakra at this point, but that may change."

For a long time, that was it. Sasuke sat staring at her blankly until a few things came together in his head. Came together with all the force of a thunderclap.

_He heard one thing, that you wanted children. Housing cavity. Mating signals. Species perpetuating itself. Sentient._

"Naruto's…_pregnant?_" Sasuke whispered. His hand flew up to cover his mouth. Everything inside him seized up...and then he felt as if his entire body shot into overdrive. He could feel blood racing along his veins, his heart pounding hard enough to make his temples throb. "That…he…_pregnant?_"

"Well. This isn't a woman, who conceived through natural means, nor is this fetus deriving nourishment from Naruto's body, as would be the case if this _was_ a woman. So far, all the food Naruto's eating is going towards maintaining that housing cavity. From what I can see, the fetus derives nourishment from the cavity itself. That too may change. Whether or not he's pregnant, I hesitate to say, but there is definitely an…offspring. And it is growing within him."

He was shaking, he realized. Shivering in his chair, his hand still clamped over his mouth. "_Oh_ my God. Oh my _God_. Oh my _fucki_-"

"Sasuke."

He looked at her with eyes glazed in shock.

"I don't know how long Naruto's body can withstand such stress. The fetus might grow too large for him to sustain, or when it is fully grown the birth –however that will happen- may prove too much. No matter what, he may die."

"But you said that-"

"I know. I know what I said. And I said that because I think he can save himself. If he knows what's happening. That, too, I'm unsure of. What I do know is that any attempt by me or anyone else to interfere with him sets off a reaction. It's not just the fetus. It's him. The part of him that used to call on Kyuubi whenever he was in mortal danger. Some unconscious part of himself that is geared solely toward self-preservation. He may no longer be actively sustaining the change he's going through, but it's far enough along now to sustain itself. It will continue to protect itself against threats."

Sasuke scrubbed his hands down his face several times, trying to get hold of himself. "Okay. Okay. So…he's pre- fuck. He's pregn…_fuck_. He's _pregnant_. With a baby. We're going to be parents, then? If it lives?"

Tsunade looked at him for several long moments. "You're not understanding me, Sasuke. If I allow it to continue growing, it could kill Naruto, but beyond that we have no idea exactly what this is."

"It's a baby. _My_ baby."

_He's already starting to get possessive, _she thought. "A normal child has 46 chromosomes. Twenty-three from its mother, and a like number from its father. The addition or loss of even one chromosome results in aneuploidy. This may or may not be the case. There could even be chromosomal mosaicism involved, and I wouldn't know, not without delving him to a depth I'm sure he wouldn't tolerate. I can't begin to guess how fertilization took place without an ovum. What I do know is that whatever is in Naruto _is_ growing, and that if there was any missing DNA from incompatibilities as far as chromosomal requirements, they may have been patched. "

"What? _Patched? _What does that mean, that if something my baby needed to grow wasn't there, or wasn't working, it got supplemented with something else?"

"Precisely."

"Like what?"

"Whatever was on hand."

"_Jesus_ fucking Chr-. Wait. Only Kyuubi's on hand. Are you…you're telling me my kid-"

"It's not your kid, Sasuke."

"That _my_ _kid_ is abnormal? That he's an animal?"

"I'm saying that we don't know what's growing, and we can't terminate the gestation."

Sasuke sat in fuming silence for all of five seconds. "You said he reshapes the laws of physics. If he could do this…if he could get pregnant, then maybe he could make a normal baby."

"Maybe." She didn't sound convinced. "Either way, you and I will tell him, and then you must leave."

This brought him out of frenzied thoughts of a half human, half Kyuubi baby ripping its way out of Naruto's body. "Leave? To where? Why?"

"Because I don't know what I'm dealing with. Already Naruto's state of mind deteriorates more and more during his hunger the longer that fetus grows, and the more energy it takes to sustain it. He's weaker. This is taking a toll on him. Who knows what he'll be like in a month? He might not even be safe to be around. Aside from which, I don't want wind of this getting out. This entire _situation_ is abnormal, so I plan to keep it contained. It will take me a few days to arrange someplace for you, as I will have to do it myself, but you are to keep Naruto in the house until I can. Send Chouji home. Turn away anyone who comes to visit. I myself will speak to Naruto's friends. Am I clear?"

"Yes."

"Good." She got up.

* * *

Once home, Sasuke took the time to shower and eat. Chouji didn't ask for an explanation for why he was turned away when he showed up an hour later. Tsunade released her clone and sat in the bedroom with Naruto while Sasuke cleared up his dishes. There was a moment when he hung his head and leaned his hands on the sink, but then he was prepping Naruto's morning meal...which would probably be eaten around midday now. This was something he'd seen Chouji do many times. He'd helped on several occasions, so he knew what he was doing. The familiar actions allowed him to think.

The thing that stood out for him the most from Tsunade's explanation was the overwhelming sense of danger she felt from Naruto. Danger from the fact that he could do these fantastic things, and danger from his –their- kid. He could all but smell it on her. The baby was an unknown. A threat. People who felt threatened often behaved violently. Leaning sideways to peek into the bedroom, he could just see her crossed legs, one heeled shoe idly bouncing. Naruto's legs were visible across from her, where they were sprawled at the end of the bed. Sasuke ducked back into the kitchen.

She was watching Naruto like a hawk, he thought as he loaded several steaks and an entire sack of potatoes into the oven. This in itself seemed violent to him. Every gesture, every word she'd said regarding Naruto and the baby put him on edge; he wasn't sure what she'd do. That she wanted to kill the baby seemed evident, but the fact that she couldn't didn't mean that she wouldn't still try. Which made her a threat. Which made what he was thinking toward her violent and possibly treasonous behavior.

Nobody was touching his kid if he could help it.

His kid. His…

Sasuke slowly sank into a chair and put his face in his hands. He was having a baby. He'd be a dad. He knew it. Somehow he knew Naruto would find a way to grow the baby to term. They would have a squalling infant of unknown genetic make-up on their hands, but they _would_ have an infant. _I tell him I don't want to rebuild my clan, he goes and rebuilds the fucking thing anyway. There is literally nothing he can't do, fucking hell._

That wasn't entirely fair. Naruto hadn't done it on purpose. And he certainly hadn't done it alone. If anything, this only demonstrated just how much Naruto felt for him. The guy had panicked and…grown a kid. Because he'd been scared of losing him. His body had undertaken the job of giving Sasuke what Naruto thought he wanted in the name of keeping him. This wasn't about chakra or will…it was about love. How much Naruto loved him.

He didn't bother to wipe the tears away when they came. Since this whole thing began he'd been unmanned several times. Before it was over he'd probably shed quite a few more tears, so a few now, while he was alone, were nothing. He hung his head and let them come.

_And what am I thinking, rebuild my clan. He might decide to rebuild _his_ clan instead. _A very real possibility. Abruptly he wondered what the baby was. Wondered if it was even possible for two men to produce a girl. _He's having my baby. _A small, slightly hysterical, and completely uncharacteristic sound escaped him. _He is going to shit._

-oOo-

They waited until Naruto'd eaten later on and was just beginning his first downtime of the day. He sat on the couch, while Tsunade stood in front of him and basically repeated what she'd told Sasuke earlier.

Naruto stared up at her without expression when she was done. "That's it? A…" He didn't know what to call it. She hadn't said it was human, so he didn't see it that way either. All things considered, he was relieved. Vastly so. He didn't have some incurable disease, and there wasn't a bloodthirsty monster inside of him just waiting to get out. Well, there was, but he considered Kyuubi to be almost a friend now. Family, even. Sometimes. Anyway, all that was wrong with him was a little accident. His chakra had gotten a bit wonky and...done something. No big deal.

Sasuke, who was sitting beside him, caught his attention. "Naruto? Are you scared?"

Naruto blinked and slowly turned his head until he was looking at him. "Scared? No. I'm waiting to hear when she's going to take this thing out of me."

"What-!"

"You heard her. There's some deformed parasite fucker inside me. I want it out."

Sasuke had to consciously keep his Doujutsu on lock. He didn't know what the outcome of a fight between him and the Hokage would be, but he didn't want to find out. At least not right then. "No. That's not what she's saying. She said it _could_ have problems, but she _doesn't_ _know_ for _sure_." He couldn't resist shooting her a scathing look, which she returned with a bland stare. He turned back to Naruto, who was frowning at him. "It's a baby. Our baby. A _baby_, Naruto. A person."

"But…what if it's not?"

"It is."

"But what if it's not?"

"_It_ _is_."

"You can't know that."

"I know you," Sasuke said fiercely. "I know how much you love me. I know what you're capable of. You pulled me back from death. _From_ _death_, Naruto. Stitched my body back together with the force of your will. I believe in you. If you –we- did this, you wouldn't make a monster. It'd be as perfect as you."

Naruto was dumb with wonder. Quite comically left blinking in stupefaction that Sasuke could be capable of feeling such things, much less saying them. He had to swallow a few times. "You think that much of me?"

Sasuke turned so that he was fully facing Naruto, and held his eyes. "I'm the one who should be amazed. And I am. At how much…at what…This…if you never told me how you felt, ever, in all our lives, this would have. You could tell me every hour, every day, of every year until we die how much you love me and it wouldn't be a drop in the bucket next to this. I hate that I hurt you, that my stupid mouth is what made this happen, but…I can't hate _this_. I can't hate how much you love me or tell you, ever, how much I love you. I will never be that powerful, never have the years or the knowledge to tell you, or show you how much."

Tsunade quietly left the room.

Naruto blinked his glassy eyes, completely speechless. "You do show me. You gave up your revenge. Gave up rebuilding your clan. You came back. For me. All for me." He tried to smile…then grimaced. "Holy fucking God, would you listen to us?" A shaky laugh escaped him, but it was mirthless. "A baby, huh?"

Sasuke nodded.

_Now_ Naruto felt the nerves kick in. A convulsion gripped him as this thought took firm root in his mind. There was a baby inside him. Or Sasuke thought there was. And Granny hadn't contradicted him, which he would examine later. A baby. Sweet mother of fuck, a kid, an actual kid was at that very moment living off him.

He suddenly couldn't breathe.

One hand flew to his stomach and clenched there. As if he could wrench the thing out of himself. "What…what are we going to do? Oh Jesus, _Jesus_, what the fuck are we going to d-"

"First off, calm down." Sasuke scooted over and put a strong arm around Naruto's trembling body. Rubbed his hand up and down Naruto's arm, and put his nose in that spiky hair. "That's it. Shh. Breathe. As for what we're going to do? _You_ are going to make sure the baby, and growing it, doesn't kill you. I'm going to be right by your side every step of the way through this."

Naruto wiped his nose on Sasuke's shirt. "We're going to keep it?"

Sasuke went very still. "Don't you want to?"

Naruto leaned back and looked away from him, over the living room. "I don't know. I mean…God, a baby? Who said I even wanted a kid? I can barely take care of myself. The hell do I know about babies? You know anything?"

Sasuke shook his head. Then he lowered his voice, casting an eye toward the hallway where he knew Tsunade was waiting. "She'll take it if she can, Naruto. Kill it. She told me that if she could, she'd terminate it now. That's why she told you the way she did. She wanted you to be afraid and disgusted. _She's_ afraid."

Naruto frowned at him.

"It could be those things she said," Sasuke went on. "But it could also be perfectly normal. Either way, I think the decision should be ours. It's our baby."

"Our baby," Naruto murmured. "No. I don't want her or anyone else just killing it. We can see if it's okay at least. Right?"

"Right," Sasuke smiled. "We could see. And even if he's not, he's still ours, Naruto. We'd be a…a family."

Something twisted in Naruto's chest at hearing that word, and the fright jumping around in him settled down considerably. "A family," he whispered. Sasuke nodded, and he thought he could at last understand the light in his dark eyes. Sasuke wanted a family, no matter that he'd given up on rebuilding his clan. And so did he, he decided. It was one thing to tell himself he didn't want one before; that would have meant splitting up with Sasuke. But a family _with_ Sasuke…that was different. Their family. Their baby. "Not that this isn't still fucked up, but…yeah. We're keeping it."

"You're sure? I don't want to feel like I pushed you into it…"

"I want it," Naruto said. "And I want our family. Okay?"

"Okay. If you're sure."

"Are _you_ sure?"

"As I've been of very few things in my life." They shared a nervous smile. Then, "Naruto?"

"Huh?"

"You don't seem too freaked anymore about the baby. That, you know, you're pregnant. I actually thought you'd go into more hysterics."

Naruto looked down at his lap and shrugged. "I mean yeah, I'm freaked. But, like…it's _there_. And I'm still okay so far. It's no weirder than other stuff I've done, now that I think about it. Not much different than the idea of Kyuubi in me, to be honest. It's just…a baby, man. A real live baby that we'll be responsible for. _Ourselves_. But you're here to suffer with me so I guess it could be worse? Just sucks balls to have to be so fucking hungry and shit. Probably suck even harder once it really starts growing."

Sasuke leaned over and impulsively kissed his whiskered cheek. "Damn straight I'm with you."

"Are you two quite finished?"

They looked up to see Tsunade staring at them with that same bland expression. "We're keeping this baby," Naruto said forcefully. "We've decided."

"While I am concerned about the dangers of your condition, Naruto, I want you to know –both of you- that I would never kill a living thing without due consideration." She held up a hand to forestall their protests. "And before you say that this baby isn't a thing, I want to further make clear that I would never kill someone's child the way you're thinking. Even if it was dangerous. Such a decision would have to be brought before the new council and the heads of the various clans. I could wish to terminate the gestation all I want, but that is my personal belief, and one held in the interest of preserving Naruto's life. Regardless to what _either_ of you have decided about this it _will_ be brought before the individuals I just mentioned."

"You said no one was to know," Sasuke said.

"No one outside of the people I mentioned."

"And if you decide to kill it?" Naruto asked. "What do you expect us to do, just stand aside and let you?"

"That will not be brought up unless the…child…proves to be a danger to society."

Naruto's brows smoothed out, but Sasuke was shrewder. "That could take years. If he's proven dangerous, it wouldn't manifest until he was a few years old. You'd have us under observation all that time? Let us get attached to our kid then whisk him away to be murdered?"

A low growl rumbled in Naruto's chest. Sasuke was disconcerted to see him starting to glow. "No one. Is touching. My kid," Naruto said. "Whether he's dangerous or not."

Tsunade studied them both. "I will make the arrangements we spoke about, Sasuke. Until then, stay home. Both of you. I will have food delivered."

* * *

Naruto wilted when the front door shut behind her, but Sasuke got up and began pacing. "Did you see her face when I said all that?" he said after a few moments. "She's not even going to let us get attached. They're going to take the baby away the second it's born."

"You really think so?"

"I know so. They'll want to study it. And keep it contained. It'll be the first of its kind. Officials from other villages might be called in to look at it. Other medical people." He stopped pacing to stare at Naruto. "Our kid won't be our kid. I don't trust her, Naruto."

Naruto licked his lips, frowning and trying to think. But even when he wasn't hungry, thinking seemed to get harder and harder these days. He just felt so _distracted_ all the time. "What should we do?"

"For now? Just go with it. See where she has us set up, what kind of security there is. If we try to book now, we won't get far. I don't have a plan in place or…anymore money. Food has taken everything."

"I got money."

"I know." He resumed pacing. "You need to hold on to that. Don't know what expenses we'll have after the baby comes. Naruto…"

"What."

"We might not be able to stay here. In Konoha. Not if we want to keep the baby out of their clutches."

"I was thinking that. Think they'd hunt us?"

"Without a doubt."

"But if we stayed, they'd take the baby and keep it for years until they decide to kill it. Right? Are we sure about that?"

"I'm sure that we would never see him again," Sasuke said wrathfully. "Even if he turned out not to be dangerous, they'd keep him."

"But how is that _right_? How can they just take someone's _kid_?"

"The same way they killed my clan."

"The people responsible for that are gone, though. And the new council is legit, you said so yourself."

"Naruto, I'm sorry, but I will never trust this place. Never. I can't." He turned and found Naruto staring at him with wide eyes. "I used to trust Tsunade but she's making me extremely nervous right now."

"Can we give them a chance? See if she'll let us keep him? She's never let me down before."

"There's a first time for everything. But we'll wait. If that's what you want to do we'll do it. I won't act unless I know for sure that they're a danger to the baby or to us. Okay?"

"Okay." Naruto's smile was genuine this time.

Seeing it, Sasuke felt some of the anxiety in his chest unknot. That smile could fix anything. It was a thought he had whenever he saw it. He went to Naruto and knelt in front of him. Between his knees. A quick glance up showed Naruto's smile tempered now, and the blue eyes steady on his face. Sasuke hesitantly reached out one hand and let his fingertips rest against Naruto's rock-solid abs. Naruto put a hand over his, and Sasuke grew bolder. He let his palm spread under Naruto's shirt, feeling the heat of Naruto's hand squeeze his own. He moved closer. Put his forehead on Naruto's stomach and closed his eyes. The invisible hum of Naruto's chakra, of power, surrounded him. He could feel it. _That's my kid in there. _He didn't think he would ever get used to the idea. His kid. In Naruto. He pressed his face closer and let a long sigh escape him.

"Sasuke? You realize how gay this is, right?" Naruto felt Sasuke smile against his stomach, and put a hand in his hair. Squeezed the strands as another wave of nerves passed through him. _We are so fucked right now it's not even funny._


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: My apologies for there being no update last Saturday. Issues. That said, I'd like to take a moment here to address a few concerns brought up in reviews and PMs.

1. THIS IS NOT FLUFF. I do not write fluff. I have only written true m-preg one other time, and that wasn't fluff either. To my mind such a phenomenon would be anything but cause for giggles and sighs of delight.

2. Some of you expressed disbelief over Naruto's reaction. Again, to my mind, the ninja in Kishimoto's universe deal with a lot. If they can watch Orochimaru vomit out a brand new body, or summon animals, or reverse death, a baby inside a man wouldn't be too far outside their scope of acceptance. That said, I had Naruto react the way he did for a reason. I always have the people I'm writing do things for a reason. If he could be so in love with Sasuke in _Tangency_ and yet not accept it, then he could be pregnant and not accept it. For this particular 'verse I'm writing, the guy has trouble accepting things he's not ready to accept. The scarier it is, the harder he tells himself it's not happening. Bottom line, I do know what I'm doing with him, so please try to trust me and enjoy the ride.

3. If you _can't_ enjoy this fic, then I strongly urge you to stop reading. It's not going to be pretty, people. This story is serious. And I'd hate to think of someone forcing themselves to read something that didn't sit well with them. I'm sure there are plenty of stories out there that have what you're looking for, enough so that we can all be nice and comfortable. I don't want to be hit with a bunch of PMs after the last chap goes up and accused of betrayal, blasphemy, and the violation of people's childhoods. That's happened. I've even been threatened a time or two, so again...if this isn't your cup of tea, just exit stage left, and all will be well. Please. I love you guys, and am honored that anyone reads me, but I hate the thought of people suffering over my work.

Lastly, a huge thank you to those who reviewed. Guests, as well as those who just didn't sign in. As for everyone else, I think I replied to you all. I can tell some of you have geared yourselves up for a rough ride, so I'll end this note here and get on with it. ^^

* * *

Chapter 4

They got through the next few days on their own. Tsunade did indeed send food every morning before the sun was up, via her own clones, as well as made sure to drop by and examine Naruto every evening. She did this with Sasuke's help, as before. The routine of Naruto's feedings and downtime was squarely on Sasuke's shoulders, though, and he performed without a hitch. He got the hang of cooking, of cleaning, and of recording everything Naruto ate so that a week flew by without them noticing it.

Naruto continued to say he felt fine. His stomachache was still there, no more or less than before, he said. During his downtime they spoke, or Naruto helped prepare some of his food, or helped clean up the dishes from his last meal. Sasuke was against this, saying that Naruto needed to conserve his energy and rest. "What," Naruto snorted. "Now I'm your helpless little wife? Gimme that plate, you asshole."

To Sasuke's shame, he did sort of see Naruto that way, but refrained from saying so. For one thing, despite Naruto's little freakout moment upon being told of the baby, he seemed remarkably calm about the whole thing now. And if Sasuke brought up the pregnancy, or names, or anything to do with his condition, Naruto tuned him out. He went around as if nothing was wrong. For another thing, the times Naruto did deign to acknowledge his condition, he was short and testy in the extreme. It seemed easier for him to ignore everything, so Sasuke played along. He didn't want Naruto suffering anymore stress than was absolutely necessary.

-oOo-

Ten days after receiving the news, Tsunade showed up for her evening visit as usual but didn't leave right away when her examination was done. "The fetus is growing a bit ahead of schedule. Quite a bit, actually, but not too much, I don't think. Not enough to cause it harm. This may or may not be due to its genetic make up."

"What else could it be?" Sasuke asked.

"I really couldn't say. Possibly Naruto's body and the way the gestation came about. Possibly a hundred other things. Everything about this is uncharted territory. However, I won't be coming to examine him every day anymore; the arrangements are complete."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, who was looking back. "Where are we going?" Sasuke asked.

She recited some coordinates. "Northwest. Near the borders of Waterfall and Iron Country. It is too far for me to accompany you. I can't be away from the village that long, but you will be taken there by someone I trust."

"Why can't I go there by toad?" Naruto wanted to know. "It's way faster."

Tsunade seemed surprise. "I assumed that when you said you couldn't control your chakra that went for Ninjutsu as well."

"I-"

Sasuke pinched him. Hard.

"…forgot about that," Naruto amended.

"You will have your things packed and ready to go before first light, morning after next. Your escort will be waiting at the southwest entrance to the village. Any questions?"

"Will there be someplace nearby to buy food?" Sasuke asked.

"All food arrangements will be handled by me. Anything else?"

"Is it safe for Naruto to go without being examined? I mean if we're out behind God's back somewhere, what are we supposed to do if something goes wrong?"

Tsunade took her time answering, giving Sasuke an unreadable look as she folded her arms. "I've established a baseline for Naruto's vitals during my daily visits; he's stable. Whatever his body's doing, it isn't affecting any of his other vital systems. Not beyond what his chakra can control, at any rate. The event is being remarkably contained for the time being. I feel safe sending you where I'm sending you. I don't foresee any major change in Naruto's condition for months. By which time I will have a course of action in place."

Sasuke swallowed this load of horseshit without so much as batting an eye. _You're hoping the baby dies out there, where he won't have anyone to care for him. What are you not telling us?_

"Anything _else_?" she asked.

They shook their heads.

"Then I will see you once I receive a report that you've arrived safely."

* * *

The journey was difficult. Morino Ibiki, who'd met them at the appointed time, had trouble finding the particular foods that satisfied Naruto best. As a result, the downtimes weren't quite as down or as long as they were when Sasuke was managing things. But he let Ibiki handle it, as the elder Jounin had been instructed, while he stayed by Naruto's side.

Whatever route Ibiki took was one not patrolled by ANBU, Sasuke noted. He suspected Tsunade had engineered this somehow. Given the ANBU units assigned to this region scouting duties elsewhere, perhaps. Whatever the case, they were alone. They traveled the forests, crossed streams, trekked over fields and hills all without encountering a soul. While Ibiki walked ahead, Sasuke and Naruto had the opportunity to talk.

"So you don't want me letting on that I can still do Ninjutsu?" Naruto said in response to a comment Sasuke made one morning. "That's why you stopped me from saying anything back at the house?"

"We don't know what's coming, or if we'll need to fight. Better they think you're helpless."

"Got it. But…"

"What?"

"Nothing. Feels like we just came back from being on the run. Now we might have to go back to that."

"You'd rather they take our kid and keep us from ever seeing it?"

"No. You're right," Naruto sighed. "It's just that we don't know for sure they're going to do that."

Sasuke said nothing more on the subject. They reached their destination a week later.

-oOo-

It was a hilly stretch of land bordering on being mountainous. In the distance could be seen a cluster of those mountainous hills in particular. One such hilltop in the cluster looked as if it had been sheared flat. A small cabin sat atop it. Ibiki began the arduous process of leading them through the hills and to that cabin.

The hills, once among them, proved to be more mountain than hill. Wending their way through the narrow valleys between them took time and effort, as did climbing the mountain their cabin sat on. Naruto, to Sasuke's dismay, simply could not maintain the pace Ibiki set. He needed to rest often, and was sweating twice as hard as he and Ibiki were. It was another day before they made it there, just as the sun hit its apex. They thumped into the structure on groans and sighs of relief.

Ibiki, of course, was as stoic as ever. He turned to the younger men and pulled several small scrolls from inside his vest. "In case you need to summon the Hokage for an emergency," he explained. "They're specifically crafted to appear in her presence with this sequence of hand seals…" He proceeded to show them. After, he admonished them that they were to stay put. Food would be brought to them. There was a fresh water spring close by, and a river two miles farther on. Naruto and Sasuke stood listening to this until Ibiki turned and left by way of the front door.

* * *

They were alone.

Naruto sank to the floor then and there, but Sasuke carefully walked through the three rooms. The smell of freshly cut wood was heavy. He ran a hand over the smooth planks in wall and floor and came to the conclusion that the place had just been built. Specifically for them, it seemed. There was minimal furniture, also wooden. A bed in one room. Table and two chairs in another. A small bookcase that held a few books. Old, dusty tomes unearthed from someone's forgotten attic, maybe. A chest next to the only fireplace.

He returned to Naruto and sat beside him. "I seriously doubt she left us here unattended," he began. "Whoever's supposed to be bringing us food was probably tasked with making sure we don't leave. Naruto? You okay?"

"I'm hungry. And tired." He was sprawled face first on the floor.

There was nothing Sasuke could do about the first, but he helped Naruto up by an arm and led him to the bed. There, they stripped off their clothes and climbed between the crisp sheets. Naruto fell into a fitful sleep, but it disturbed Sasuke that his downtime was wearing off in the middle of the day. Likewise, Naruto didn't take naps. The journey had screwed up their carefully maintained schedule. Worse, depending on when food was brought and in what amount, they might not be able to get it back.

He fell into an uneasy sleep.

-oOo-

Later, he woke without knowing just what it was that had woken him. The cabin was dark, he saw. And Naruto was no longer beside him. There was a noise in the next room and Sasuke shot off the bed.

Naruto was pacing back and forth, back and forth, canines bared. By now Sasuke recognized when Naruto was too far gone to communicate. He wasn't usually violent in these moods, but it was best not to approach him unless it was with food. He gave Naruto a wide berth and went to the front door. Gave another look behind himself to make sure Naruto wasn't following him before he pulled it open, intent on seeing if there was a village or farm nearby.

The area in front of their cabin was crowded with baskets of food. Dozens of them. Tall ones, short ones… Sasuke only stared for a second. He opened the nearest one and found raw rice. He opened another and found an assortment of nuts. Yet another held food pellets by the pound. He brought the nuts and pellets inside and deposited them at Naruto's feet. Naruto fell on them.

There was no one visible in the moonlit landscape that Sasuke could see. He found himself searching anyway, as he brought in the rest of the baskets and set them near the fireplace. He opened the chest to the right of the fireplace and found primitive pots and kettles. Further inspection revealed an old-fashioned oven built into the side of the fireplace itself. The raw food -there was meat and fish carefully wrapped in some of those baskets- and the pots suggested that Tsunade thought him capable of cooking this way.

He wanted to curse.

Rice and meat, and maybe fish, he could make if there was a proper stove and modern oven, but he needed a kitchen and running water. Utensils. Spices. Things to be had in the world of civilized dining. This…at this rate, Naruto would starve to death.

He tried. There was firewood behind the cabin, he saw. How different could it be from living on their own in the woods all that time?

The result was appalling. And later, when Naruto miserably tried to eat his efforts, Sasuke remembered that they hadn't eaten too well when they'd been on their own.

They suffered through a few days of this, with the routine completely shot to hell. The food was either burned or undercooked, and the food pellets and nuts were completely gone. The food was nearly done, and Naruto had become morose and silent.

* * *

Another food delivery came at the end of the week.

They stood staring at each other once the baskets had been brought in. Sasuke knew right then that he would never get through a month of this, much less the rest of Naruto's pregnancy. "I hate it here," Naruto said quietly. "I hate this."

Sasuke had to agree.

But a month did crawl by. And they managed to survive. Sasuke's cooking was no better. Naruto's hunger was so sharp now that there were only levels to it, no downtime at all. If he was lucid at all, it was only barely. Tsunade came once, two weeks into their exile, and examined Naruto. All she said was that the fetus was continuing to grow and develop, before she'd disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sasuke contemplated attacking her when next she showed her face, he really did.

The rest of the time they were on their own. Sasuke frequently thought he would go mad in the silence that went on day after day. It was broken only by the sound of wind moving between the hilly mountains, a sound that produced a near-incessant _screee_ that set his teeth on edge. But then he would remember Naruto and the fact that this was probably ten times harder on him. Sometimes he just held Naruto through the worst of his hunger, when the food was all gone and they were waiting for a delivery. Sometimes Naruto refused to be around him, growling and snarling behind the cabin as his body craved nutrients it wasn't getting. And sometimes they were themselves, if miserable, and they would look at each other and wonder how they would make it through another hour, another day. The end of that month felt like the end of a year.

* * *

Sunset. It was one of those evenings when they were more or less okay, when Sasuke and Naruto stood in the main room waiting for their weekly food delivery. They never saw anyone dropping the food off, but they waited anyway. Naruto shuddered as he tried to maintain himself through a debilitating wave of hunger.

Sasuke looked on helplessly. Naruto was a beset and perpetually annoyed person these days. He saw the canines, saw the way Naruto viciously swiped at some insect that flew in from the window and buzzed near his ass, and wished yet again that there was more he could do.

There was a noise outside the cabin. To Sasuke's disbelieving ears it sounded like shouting. Whooping. He went to the door, never having heard the mysterious deliverymen make a sound. Before he could open the thing, it swung inward and a group of people trooped inside, led by Kiba riding Akamaru.

"God _damn_, Uchiha. Do I have tracking skills or what? A-to-the-men."

Shino pushed his sunglasses up his nose. "I think not. You certainly helped, but it was the Bikouchou, as you well know." He held out his finger. The insect buzzing around Naruto obediently flew toward it and came to light on its tip.

There were some light mutters of agreement to this. A few quiet laughs. Kiba's disgruntled protests. For the most part, though, everyone was silent as they fit themselves around Sasuke and Naruto and took in the sight of them.

They'd all come, Sasuke noted. There was Neji, his ponytail dripping with sweat. Hinata, holding the straps of her knapsack in her hands, her face puckered in concern. Sakura, her sharp eyes scrutinizing Naruto from head to toe. Chouji, sniffing the aroma of burned food that seemed to hang about the place and shaking his head. And there was Tenten. Ino and Shikamaru. Lee brought up the rear, depositing a huge stack of duffels and bags on the floor.

Kiba climbed off Akamaru. He was the first to approach Naruto, who stood staring at them in shock. He kept one hand on his dog as he leaned forward a bit and sniffed. His eyes widened, skipped up to Naruto's face searchingly, then slowly dropped to his midsection.

For Naruto, the arrival of his friends completed the surreal nightmare he found himself living in.

Back in Konoha he distinctly remembered telling Sasuke that the idea of a kid in him was no different from the idea of Kyuubi, but back then a baby had been just that- an idea. He'd had a moment, only one, where he'd sort of believed it, but for the most part he couldn't quite believe there was one in him. He simply saw no evidence of it. His stomach was the same, he looked the same, ergo he _was_ the same. More or less. He sure as hell didn't go around saying or thinking he was pregnant, the way Sasuke did. No, all he felt was tired and drained, and hungry enough to chew off his own arm. He was miserable. And completely unused to feeling sick. That's what this whole thing was to him, one long illness that refused to go away, and that robbed him of what little mental faculties he possessed. So, despite all the evidence that pointed to the fact that he was _something_ (not pregnant, he was NOT pregnant!), basically all he felt was shitty. And pissed whenever he saw Sasuke smiling at his stomach. Sasuke, he suspected, saw little outside the prospect of fatherhood, and a baby with his lover. Sweet, but highly irritating.

But his friends now. Them showing up, looking at him the way they were, all still, and quiet, and serious…that put a sizable hole in his bubble of self-delusion. He wasn't just sick; there was some extremely unnatural shit going on with him. He'd been _sent_ to fuck knew where. Was forced to live in this hellish exile, and eat Sasuke's horrendous cooking, and suffer through bouts of hunger he was certain would drive him mad before long…until he shat out an infant of unknown genetic make-up. At which point he could expect to either have it taken on the spot and killed, taken on the spot and killed at a later time, or taken at a later time and then killed. In which case, why in the name of God was he living through this shit? If it wasn't so they could have a family, then why? These were thoughts that only cropped up when he wasn't going blind with hunger. In other words, not often. The way his friends all looked at him, though, and the fact that they'd made it their business to come and find him…that forced him to consider the possibility that he'd been right back at the apartment: he was well and truly fucked.

He looked down at his feet and swallowed. He wasn't going to cry like some bitch again. He _wasn't_. He was _fine_. Just touched that his friends had come for him, was all. And he _wasn't pregnant_.

Kiba went to him. His hand hovered uncertainly over one of Naruto's shaking shoulders, but he grabbed him by the head and pulled him into a tight hug. The rest of them drifted over one by one and added themselves to the gesture, until Naruto was surrounded by his friends. They all pressed on him, hugging him in one huge cluster of love and support, while his curses and sobbing echoed around the room.

Sasuke watched the lumpy hug around Naruto. He didn't feel left out precisely, but it came to him again that at this point he simply wasn't enough for Naruto anymore. There was resentment. Some jealousy. Mostly he just felt inadequate. Naruto probably needed a lot of things he wasn't providing. Emotional support was just one of them. What about someone strong enough to protect him once things progressed to the point where Naruto couldn't protect himself? Someone capable of taking on the village in the name of keeping him and their kid safe? Someone who could feed him properly out here in the middle of nowhere? Someone who wasn't afraid of this whole situation, who didn't feel as though he'd never stopped fucking up, not since that argument? Naruto needed someone a lot better than him.

Insecurity was not a feeling he was accustomed to. He watched that blond hair disappear beneath stroking hands and motherly kisses, and swallowed uncomfortably. Naruto's crying put a knot of answering distress in his throat. He hadn't seen him cry since the hospital.

Hinata stood apart. She still had her bag on her back, her thumbs hooked through the straps. The look on Sasuke's face –so lost and unsure- propelled her on slow feet across the room. He glanced at her when she stopped by his elbow, but looked away again almost immediately as he tried to wipe his face. She never knew afterward what made her catch his wrist to stop the action, or where she got the nerve to touch this person who'd always been hostile to her, but she found herself pulling him by his wrist, turning into him, and demonstrating the fact that she understood his pain. That she could _see_ his pain.

Sasuke felt himself stiffen as her soft body came against his. Her arms around his back pressed, and he found his head lowering to her hair. Found himself hugging her back hard. His tears were scalding, but thankfully silent. He let himself be overcome by them. Gave in to the sharp fear and uncertainty he'd been feeling since Naruto had left him for that week. Fear that had seemed to grow in proportion to Naruto's condition. Fear he'd hidden successfully until now. He let all that out on Hinata's shoulder, shaking her smaller body with the force of his release, and holding her harder than was probably wise. She didn't complain, and he didn't let go. Even after he was spent, he kept his face in her neck, her hair plastered to his wet face. She smelled good. Like…something. Something nice. Something feminine, that had been missing from his life since his clan had been massacred. Flowers, maybe. He didn't care. He only cared that the smell soothed him further, that her soft-ish arms felt good, and that her smooth, silky hair was the source of the smell.

And he was too embarrassed to show his face for the moment.

A harder hand landed on his arm. He knew that touch, and pulled away at last. Strands of Hinata's hair stuck to his face, connecting them as he straightened up. She plucked them free without comment. He made an awkward attempt to wipe the snot and tears from her shoulder, but she backed away with a small smile.

Naruto tightened his hand on him, and Sasuke faced him. Faced him, but didn't look at him, not until Naruto replaced Hinata with a hug of his own. Over his shoulder he could see the way everyone stood in a group, watching them.

* * *

"We didn't know what was wrong," Chouji began when they were all seated in the main room. He handled the pots and other cooking utensils expertly, as if he was in the finest kitchen. It helped that he had quite a few of his own utensils with him. The food delivery had come about twenty minutes after they'd shown up. Chouji had taken charge immediately. The smell of rich stew and rising bread dough permeated the cabin as he continued. "The Hokage spoke to each of us, warning us away from you, but we didn't know that until we got together to compare notes. Neji found me," he explained at Sasuke's puzzled look. "And asked if I knew what had happened at the hospital. I didn't, but then we went to find Sakura, sure that she knew."

"Which I didn't," Sakura said darkly. "Shisou never keeps medical info from me, especially not about a friend, but she clammed up the moment I said Naruto's name." She folded her arms angrily, watching the way Chouji chopped vegetables on the huge wooden cutting board he'd brought. "I'm dedicated to her, but I've known Naruto forever. He comes first."

Naruto smiled gratefully and reached across several people to squeeze her knee.

"So we went to Kiba," Chouji resumed. "Once we figured out that we'd all been told that 'your condition was well in hand and to please give you and Sasuke space until otherwise informed.' Kiba said he could track you, if the trail wasn't too old. It was, though, so Shino stepped in."

"It was my idea to get everyone else," Neji said. "I knew it had to be serious if you were being isolated. And once we figured out you'd been taken out of the village, extra support seemed the best way to go. We didn't know what was wrong, or what we'd be facing. It took time for us to plan our departure, but the main reason we took so long to get here was the security around your files. Sakura needed over a week before she could get at them and see what they contained."

Sasuke looked around at them all. "Wait. You guys left the village without permission?"

Serious nods all around.

"For me?" Naruto asked, eyes wide. "Granny will shit!"

There seemed to be a general ripple of agreement to this statement.

"We're your friends," Hinata said quietly. "I can't speak for anyone else, but I remember how ill you were at the house. I'm worried about your health more than I am about punishment."

The solemn intensity this was said with didn't go unnoticed. Hinata had changed since the Jounin exams. A fact that had also been noted. She was less easily flustered, and even quieter than usual. Where once she'd been seen as painfully shy, now she was watched with an air of speculation. Her eyes looked at people unflinchingly these days, and she seemed unafraid of anything. She was the one who'd suggested to Neji that they all go after Naruto.

"I saw the report," Sakura said into the silence. "It pretty much confirmed what I'd been thinking, but…it's still unbelievable. Is it true?" she asked softly, her eyes large. "Really true? I mean, it has to be. It was in the report."

"It's true," Kiba said shortly. His eyes skipped sideways at Naruto, flickering to where the hem of his shirt sat bunched around his middle. "I can smell it now. Before he just smelled weird. Now he smells…exactly like what he is."

"Well, seeing as the rest of us didn't see the report, and you wouldn't tell us on the way here, Sakura, I think you guys should tell us." Chouji straightened up from dumping the vegetables into the stew and looked at Sasuke and Naruto.

"Right." Naruto rubbed suddenly sweaty palms down his shorts. "Looks like I'm… sort of…like, kind of…a little bit…knocked…up. Expecting." He grimaced. _I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!_

"Expecting what?" Lee asked.

But Hinata and Neji activated their Byakugan. Neji sucked in a long breath through his nose. Hinata whispered, "A baby."

Lee actually looked around, as if one might be crawling through the window at that very moment. Shino's sunglasses gleamed as he tilted his head in puzzlement. Shikamaru stared at Naruto until he finally said, "You're kidding."

"Wish to fuck I was."

"There's a baby in you?" Shikamaru pressed. "_In_ you. Right now."

Naruto nodded, but didn't look at anyone.

"Who put it there? And _why_? Was it surgically implanted? I mean-"

"Sasuke," Naruto whispered. "It's…shit. It's his."

Shikamaru's narrowed eyes went back and forth between Naruto and Sasuke a few times, before fastening onto Naruto's stomach. The frown on his face said clearly that he was trying to picture the logistics of such a thing. "That's…insane. What the actual f-"

"Stop it!" Sakura shot Shikamaru a scathing look that that had him finally shutting his mouth. "_God_. Can't you see he feels bad enough?"

But everyone else was in just as much shock. They stared at Naruto as if at some fascinating new species, wondering just how it was a man could be pregnant.

Sasuke did the honors. He skimmed the details of the argument, concentrating on the way Naruto's chakra operated, and the driving force behind the conception itself. Everyone present listened while leaning forward, glares of disbelief on their faces.

Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, forget all that. You guys can't stay. Granny will crucify you. I'm supposed to be top secret, I can't let you guys get in trouble for me."

There were a few glances exchanged. Some head-shaking, as if Naruto's naiveté was to be pitied. Kiba scooted over and clapped a hand on the back of Naruto's neck. "Listen. Buddy. The Hokage knows we've gone by now, m'kay? Our families, too. We knew what we were doing when we skipped out. One ANBU patrol has already tried to intercept us, so I'm sure our location is known. Besides," he sniffed the air several times, "I'm pretty sure there are about five people stationed around this cabin. Probably the same ones who bring your food-"

"Eight," Neji corrected, turning his enhanced eyes to the wall behind him. "And more about five miles out, in a wider perimeter."

"There, you see? Secret's out. We're not leaving you, man." Kiba sat back as if the matter was settled.

"But she comes and examines me. She'll probably be here any day now."

Silence. Naruto realized from their unblinking expressions that they'd thought of this too, and planned to hold their ground.

"Tsunade mentioned the new council. And the heads of clans," Sasuke said quietly. "They're planning on taking the baby, I'm sure of it. For observation, she says. To determine, after a period of time, if they need to put it down. If you're staying, then you should know I don't plan on letting that happen. Neither does Naruto."

The unvoiced question was shared amongst them via several more exchanged glances. "Count me in," Sakura said. "I'm on your side."

"So am I," Hinata said.

They all agreed. Or almost all.

"Are we really taking on the Hokage?" Shikamaru wanted to know. "Because I didn't sign up for that."

"If we stay," Shino said, speaking for the first time, "It's far more likely that we'll be taking on the whole village. The Hokage is powerful, but the heads of the various clans…" He shook his head shortly. "My father is severe. And there is no telling what other support she will have behind her in the form of Jounin and ANBU. If we, some of Konoha's most elite ninja, not to mention the Jinchuuriki for the Nine Tails, decide to make a united stand, our opposition won't end with the Hokage."

That silenced everyone.

Shikamaru, once he'd bowed his head in thought for some time, turned and addressed Naruto directly. "Look. You're my friend, okay? There's not much I wouldn't do for you, but this situation isn't what I expected. The way I heard it from everyone else-" He shot a glance at Kiba and Neji. "You were deathly ill. I thought you'd been smuggled out of the village to die or something. This…this is weird, don't get me wrong. And it's pretty serious and all, but it's not life-threatening. And I don't think I should have to jeopardize my standing with the Hokage or my status in the village over it. I'm behind you a hundred percent, but we're talking about taking on the _village _here, and the status of missing-nin. As much as I respect you I'm not sure this is worth it."

Everyone turned from frowning at Shikamaru to looking at Naruto for his reaction. He surprised them by saying, "You're right. It isn't. Which is why I think you should _all_ go back. Granny's not playing around, guys. If she could tell Sasuke to his face that she'd kill the kid if it was dangerous, she definitely won't hesitate to do what she thinks is necessary to keep it a secret. I love you guys. Really. And I'm glad as fuck you came out here to support me, but I can't let you do this."

The conversation devolved into opposing arguments for staying and going, with neither side gaining the upper hand. It only ended when Chouji announced that it was time for Naruto to eat.

* * *

Over the next few days, Chouji painstakingly re-established Naruto's schedule. He was eating more and more every day as his condition advanced, but Chouji countered by increasing Naruto's calorie intake with each meal. It meant he could spend less time eating. Even with these careful adjustments in place, though, Chouji decided that Naruto needed a third meal in the middle of the day. He left a note in one of the empty baskets one evening stating this, so that more food was left with the deliveries, and the deliveries themselves came twice a week. Naruto's three meals a day soon progressed to food pellets and nuts as snacks during his downtime. When it was all said and done, Naruto was eating non-stop. He walked around with the bag of pellets and nuts sewn to his waistband, and dug into it every few minutes while walking around and enjoying his friends.

Those friends, it must be said, watched him closely. They also had a hard time truly accepting Naruto's condition. Despite the fact that Neji, Kiba, and Hinata all confirmed it, Naruto was still predominantly himself. He horsed around with Lee when he felt up to it. Hawked and spat. Scratched himself in unmentionable places. And took his dick out for a piss behind the house the same as the other guys. The same as _any_ other guy. He also sat with his legs spread, and made lewd jokes sometimes. Nothing suggested that he was in a delicate way. There wasn't a delicate bone in his body. And his stomach was as rock-hard and flat as it had always been. The only change they could see was that he ate more, and seemed to be out of breath more often when he practiced with anyone. Beyond that, he was Uzumaki Naruto in every respect, down to farting long and loud whenever he wanted to annoy someone. It always gave him a laugh to see Lee rage or Ino squeal with disgust. Those were the moments when everyone forgot his condition entirely.

-oOo-

Sakura performed her own assessment of Naruto with Sasuke's help a few days after their arrival. Hinata looked on with her Byakugan. When Sakura was done, she sat and entered the information into a file she'd compiled for herself of Naruto's condition. After, she sat staring at it, deep in thought as Sasuke and Naruto watched her. Hinata kept her eyes trained on Naruto's abdomen, troubled by her own thoughts.

"_Neh_, Sakura…is it that bad?" Naruto ventured. _Maybe I'm really not pregnant! _

"The suspense is killing me," Sasuke added.

She looked up and saw the matching frowns of worry on their faces, then glanced down at her notes again and gave a tiny shake of her head. The puckered skin between her brows said that her formidable mind might actually be stumped for once. "I've never come across anything so bizarre," she muttered, dispelling Naruto's small fantasy. "So absolutely outside the realm of possibility. It's as if…as if someone took a story and decided to make it real. None of what's happening to Naruto should be possible, not if the laws of physics are constant. Even allowing for the more flexible laws of Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Kinjutsu…this shouldn't be. It just shouldn't. This-" She looked up at them and caught their rapt expressions. "It's like having an idea and making that idea flesh and blood. I could think of a purple rhino right now, but that doesn't mean I could will it into existence. That's what's happening in Naruto. That and more."

Sasuke struggled to think. "But…why is what's happening to him impossible? Isn't that more or less the _Banbutsu_ _Souzou_ technique the Sage of the Six Paths was capable of? Whom Naruto is a descendent of? For fuck's sake, you and Tsunade are going on and on about breaking the laws of physics –terrifying us in the process!- when all Naruto's doing is calling on abilities he's got hard-coded into his DNA? _Un_believable. As if we aren't scared enough." He snorted in disgust.

Sakura blinked in shock a few moments as this new possibility worked its way through her mind. "Yes," she said slowly. "You could be right. I mean obviously Naruto can't perform such a technique under ordinary circumstances, but the ability does, apparently, lurk somewhere in his genetic makeup. If he were pushed far enough, his mind put under enough stress…and with enough chakra… Well it would certainly explain what's happening." She blinked owlishly at Naruto's file.

"What _is_ happening?" Naruto said. "With the kid, I mean. Is it…you know. Normal?"

Sakura crossed her legs and shuffled some of the papers in the file. Cleared her throat. "I guess? I'm not sure how to answer that. It _seems_ to be, but it's hard for me to say."

"Why?" Sasuke and Naruto said this at the same time.

"Because. Up till now, it's been surrounded by a sack comprised entirely of chakra. There is no umbilical cord, no amniotic sack, no fluid to protect it…yet it's taking in nutrients somehow. I can't detect how, though. And it's growing. If we go by the date you and Sasuke had sex-"

"Fuck, Sakura!" Naruto bleated in embarrassment.

"-then you should be at nine weeks gestation. Coming up on your tenth week. It should still be an embryo. Its eyelids should be fused shut, facial features indistinct. Hands and feet would barely be forming from the arm and leg appendages. Organs like the developing liver and pancreas would begin to function, but it would be an _embryo_. Not quite fully formed, and without everything quite in place. We shouldn't even be able to tell if it's male or female yet."

"And that's not what's happening?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura chewed her lip as she met their eyes. "No. All its limbs, organs, and body systems are in place. It's tiny, but it is a functioning human being for all intents and purposes. Not _fully_ formed, but much farther along than nine weeks would be in a normal pregnancy. More like 16 weeks, just smaller."

"So he is normal then," Naruto said in relief. "He's not a monster."

"A normal fetus would not be able to live without some kind of attachment to its mother," Sakura countered.

"I'm not its mother!"

Sakura ignored that. "It would not be able to subsist on chakra alone, nor would it be this developed this soon."

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a glance. "But he's healthy?" Sasuke asked. "And…human?"

"From what I can tell," Sakura smiled. "And it is definitely a 'he'."

That made Sasuke grin. Naruto frowned down at his stomach, still unable to really picture a child in him.

Hinata, who'd been silent until now as she stared at Naruto's abdomen, spoke up. "I can tell a lot more. No offense, Sakura, but I can see what his chakra is doing to a finer degree. And I can magnify what I'm seeing." To Sasuke and Naruto she said, "The sack it's in _is_ comprised of chakra, but that's even now changing. The chakra is slowly being converted into tissue. The change is focused primarily at the site of attachment to the duodenum, where the chyme enters it, so it looks like the fetus will begin receiving nutrients that way. Also…Naruto, I think I know why you've been unable to communicate with the Kyuubi. Its chakra is the main source of fuel for what's happening. It's being used to sustain the…baby."

"Oh." It was all Naruto could think of to say. He didn't understand everything that was said, but he understood enough. More than enough. Somehow hearing what was going on in his body in such minute detail made the kid a bit more real. "But I'm okay, right? My body?"

Sakura nodded, but again, Hinata elaborated. "Once the baby starts taking in nutrients directly from your body instead of through chakra alone, I think your hunger will decrease. It makes sense; if less chakra is needed to sustain the baby, then your body is burning off less energy. But yes, you're okay. Remarkably so. For now." She finally released her Byakugan and let her fingertips pinch the bridge of her nose. She looked a little drained.

"Hinata," Sakura said in admiration. "You should go into medicine."

That earned her a weak smile, but the next moment Hinata's eyes slid to Naruto again, where he and Sasuke had their heads bent together in discussion.

* * *

Not three days later they were all grouped in the main room, watching Naruto plow through his evening meal. The arrival of Tsunade had their good-natured banter grinding to a halt. She appeared right at Naruto's shoulder, one hand on her hip.

Her eyes swept around the room, but held little surprise. None, actually. Naruto swallowed his piece of chicken with difficulty. Sasuke watched the Hokage with barely-concealed dislike. Everyone else became utterly still.

Without a word, Tsunade shook back one sleeve, and reached to place her hand on Naruto's forehead. Sasuke, familiar with the examination process, reluctantly put his own glowing hand on Naruto's arm.

-oOo-

When it was over, Tsunade stared down at Naruto for many long minutes without speaking. Without even seeing him, really. She seemed to be processing whatever she'd gleaned from her examination. At length her eyes did find Naruto's round ones, but she turned her back on him to pin the rest of the group with a stare that made them cringe.

Naruto, released from her scrutiny, sagged where he sat and quietly resumed eating.

"So," Tsunade said. Her voice was low and composed. "Does anyone have anything they'd like to say?"

There were a few glances exchanged. Nothing more.

"No?" Tsunade crossed her arms. "Allow me to speak, then. And I hope you all listen because this situation is of the utmost gravity. I'm sure you all believe you're doing a noble thing by standing with Naruto in his hour of need, but there are rules and order in the ninja class system for a reason. Rules that are to be _obeyed_. Order that keeps us _safe_, that keeps our way of life _running_. Disobeying your superiors in the name of friendship is never a good idea. And in this case…catastrophic. None of you have any idea what you've done, do you."

In the silence she provided, there was another quick flurry of glances between everyone. Naruto ate in silence, but he was listening hard.

Ino tentatively raised her hand. "What harm could we have done? We only wanted to know why he'd been sent away. To see if he was all right. To-"

"Shut. Up," Tsunade breathed in a shaking voice. Her nostrils flared a moment, and her face was a study in conflict. "This situation can only get worse, so I won't mince words. Stand down. Immediately. Or I will be forced to take action."

A moment of open-mouthed shock, before they all started speaking at once.

"Against us?" Sasuke asked loudly. "All of us? You'll say anything to justify taking our kid, won't you! You-"

"We knew leaving without authorization would be bad," Sakura said, silencing him. "We knew you'd be angry with us, but we haven't harmed anyone. Why would you move against us? All we did was leave the village, that doesn't warrant threats from you, Shisou." Her eyes were large in her face, belying the calm tone of her voice. "Naruto's condition is top-secret, as you said, but you can't think we'd _tell_ anyone? That we'd betray him like that? We're his friends! Besides, _you_ told the council and plenty of others."

"Naruto is Jinchuuriki," Tsunade said slowly, but dangerously. "He is male, and he is Jinchuuriki. That he has conceived a…a child, could not be kept secret from the people I told. This isn't remotely the same as when his mother conceived. _He is a man_. And unlike Kushina's pregnancy, the demon's chakra is all over this child. It is advanced in every respect that I can detect, _sentient_, and already capable of defending itself. Even if this child were normal, I would still have had to report it; a threat to Konoha's Jinchuuriki must be brought to the attention of those responsible for the village's safety. A threat to Naruto, is a threat to the village. A threat to the village is a threat to the country." She took a moment to frown down at her shoe as she swallowed. "I am Hokage, but I do not rule alone. The council _had_ to be told. The heads of clans. Whatever decision is made regarding this child must be made jointly with those I rule with. You are a weapon, Naruto," she said, looking at him now. "A person as well, yes, but the hard truth of the matter is that you are a weapon. And now you're creating another weapon. One, so far, that seems to be stronger than you are yourself."

Sasuke looked at Naruto's stricken face and swallowed.

"This is why Naruto's condition, and knowledge of it, had to be contained," she went on. "The ones guarding this cabin know nothing of why Naruto has been sent here, only that they are to see that he remains safe. There were no orders to keep anyone out, since it was unthinkable that anyone would find him without my consent…but that has to change now. As your Hokage I am ordering you all to stand down from this matter."

"Why?" Lee asked. "You've already told us this much…"

"Because this situation is of the utmost sensitivity. As such, I am obligated, as well as within my rights, to incarcerate anyone who violates the parameters of this matter. Which is zero contact. Konoha can't risk wind of Naruto's condition getting out. He'd be coveted, as would the child. The information has to be contained, and that means you all must leave."

Shikamaru was the first to stand. "Like Sakura said, we won't tell. But I don't mind leaving. I wasn't comfortable coming here to begin with. I'm sure," he added, turning to look at his friends, "that everyone here will agree that going back peacefully would be much better than being forcibly removed and jailed."

Their silence said otherwise.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Tsunade said. "You've all flouted authority by leaving without permission. Neutralized the ANBU unit sent after you. And now aligned yourselves with a matter of top secrecy. The only way to contain this now _is_ to incarcerate you."

"What-!" someone yelled. Others added their thoughts as well, until everyone was speaking at once.

"Worse," Tsunade said, raising her voice over the din, "Your parents are aware of the order. That I was sent out here to retrieve you. That you must all be incarcerated complicates things; your parents aren't happy about it. At all. They don't believe things need to be taken that far, and are even now trying to overthrow the council's directive. Had you all done as you'd been told, I might have remedied this mess with minimal aggravation. Now…" She met each of their eyes, which, she was pleased to note, were downcast.

"But we won't tell," Shikamaru said. He sounded bewildered. "We swear not to tell, you don't have to put us in jail."

"If I don't hand you over," Tsunade said in an equally low voice, "The council will send ANBU against you in force. They are invoking rights and privileges I had no idea existed- injunctions to my position as Hokage that circumvent even my authority. They _can_ come after you, and they can do a lot worse than jail you. Under certain circumstances they can command not only ANBU, but Konoha's hunter-nin. Jail is the safest thing for you now. I'm trying to _help_ you."

This time the glances that were exchanged were noticeably uncertain. Several people nodded. They even moved, as if they were about to cross to the side of the room Tsunade stood on, and give themselves up.

Hinata slowly got to her feet.

Up till now she hadn't said a word. But the look in her pale eyes, and the way her chin was lowered, suggested that she was about to say something…and that it wasn't about handing herself over. Everyone, Tsunade included, looked at her with varying degrees of curiosity.

"You're right," Hinata said into the heavy silence. "Naruto _is_ a weapon. The safety of the village does rest largely with him, but he's more than that. He's our future. Someone who will put his life on the line for a single villager as well as the entire village…and he has done so many times. He puts everyone before himself. _Protects_ everyone before himself. But that means nothing to you, does it? All you can see is the fact that he's a weapon that's being endangered by something outside his control- "

"That's not what I-"

"Fine," Hinata said, cutting Tsunade off. "Let's use that argument. Naruto is Konoha's weapon, and the last surviving Jinchuuriki. As such, safe-guarding him should be of paramount importance. You've sent him out here to suffer a condition that's unprecedented, without the slightest shred of help. This baby is draining him. You know that. It might even kill him. You know that too. But you're fine with Sasuke being the only companion for him while he's going through this 'matter of utmost gravity and sensitivity.' He needs _help_. I'm staying. You can try to take me against my will, but I will make sure the entire Hyuuga clan hears of it. _I'm. Not. Leaving_."

Apparently, after hearing this speech, neither was anyone else. One by one, they crossed to Hinata's side of the room and stood with her. Naruto and Sasuke stared at her as if they'd never seen her before.

Tsunade kept her eyes on Hinata's, but ignored the threat. "You are hereby stripped of rank, all of you," she said. "You may even be stripped of citizenship, if you do not stand down right now. If that happens, and you are then found near Naruto –a citizen of Konoha whom contact with now requires the highest security clearance imaginable- you will be targets. The will move against you with extreme prejudice and I cannot stop them. _That_ is how far the council is willing to go. _That_ is what I am trying to protect you against. Do you want that to happen?"

"No." And it was Naruto who spoke this time. So far he'd been sitting down, with Sasuke kneeling beside him. He got to his feet, and faced his friends. "I've been saying it all along, but now I'm serious. Guys…listen to what she's saying. You're all less than Genin now. That's bad enough, do you think I want to see you kicked out of the village too? I know most of you are thinking you can just come here and bunk with me and Sasuke, but _they will hunt you_. I'm nowhere near capable of fighting with you guys, so I can't protect you. And truthfully…as much as it means to me that you're willing to go this far on my behalf…if it came down to you guys fighting the villagers, I don't know if I'd be able to take it. That…that has to be the worse, fighting the people you belong with. Fighting your family. Your friends. This is not what it's about, it's not what I want. Please. Just go with her. Sasuke and will manage, I promise."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence wherein many of Naruto's friends stared at the floor. On the one hand they wanted to stand beside Naruto the way he'd always stood by them. On the other, these were some serious repercussions the Fifth was holding over their heads.

Shikamaru went and stood beside the Hokage with a shame-faced glance at the others. Shino went next, his face somehow grimmer than usual. Ino went in tears. Sakura angrily, glaring something akin to hate at her mentor. They all went. All except Hinata, who stood her ground beside Naruto with her arms folded and her eyes unblinking. To those watching, she appeared to vibrate with the force of her fury.

Tsunade dipped her head at seeing Hinata's continued defiance. When she lifted her gaze again, Hinata thought she saw a small gleam in her golden eyes. A tiny smile about her mouth. But what Tsunade said next dispelled this notion. "Hyuuga Hinata, you risk being stripped of citizenship to Konohagakure until such time as you can stand trial for the crime of gross insubordination. You have been warned. Is it your final decision to stay?"

"It is." She'd imagined that smile.

"Then let it be witnessed by those present." Here, Tsunade turned and cast her eyes over Naruto's friends. "However, she is right about Naruto's safety. Furthermore, until such time as I learn different, I am still Hokage. And I am still in charge of my people. Sakura. Chouji."

The two named stood straighter, wondering what was coming next.

"You will stay with Naruto on my authority, and tend to him during his confinement. I will accept full responsibility with the council, and argue that your presence is necessary to keep Naruto healthy. I'll expect weekly reports, for my eyes only. Am I understood?"

Hardly daring to believe her ears, Sakura rushed to nod. "Yes, Shisou. Will you be coming to examine Naruto yourself?"

Tsunade was some minutes answering. She stared through Sakura, at nothing. For those few minutes her mind was far away. "I don't know," she said at length. "Things are…uncertain right now. Best if you operate on the assumption that I am not. I will try, but I can make no promises."

Sasuke had been watching the Fifth very closely. Trying to piece together the dire threats she gave, her attitude of quiet desperation, that look of despair she'd just had. Of fear. And now this reversal of her position regarding people around Naruto. A suspicion took root in his gut so that he said, "Hokage."

She looked at him.

"Are Naruto and I in danger? Imminent danger?"

Tsunade gave a small, cryptic smile that put the hairs up on the back of Sasuke's neck. "A ninja is always in danger." She was gone in the next moment, along with those who'd elected to return to Konoha, in a cloud of smoke.

-oOo-

Chouji let out a sigh of relief, and said something about seeing to Naruto's next meal. Sakura gently pulled Hinata aside so that she could ask her something, but Naruto turned puzzled eyes to Sasuke. "What. The hell."

Sasuke kept his eyes on where Tsunade had so recently stood. Something wasn't right about her visit, and it wasn't the threats or the fact that she'd taken everyone back with her. Something else. Something she was hiding. This thought kept the skin between his brows puckered until he remembered the things she'd said about the baby. Then he was trying hard not to shiver.

Naruto saw him. In fact, he was remarkably clear-headed for the moment. He looked in the next room, where Chouji was squatting at the fire. Looked to the corner of the main room, where Sakura was speaking earnestly to a silent Hinata. And looked back at Sasuke, who was starting to develop a permanent crease on his brow.

* * *

No one stopped him when he left the house. It was common enough for anyone of them to seek privacy for nature calls. He walked down the back of their hill until he was hidden by trees, and sat down on a small outcropping of rock that jutted from the side.

It was a minute before he could stop shaking long enough to think. Sasuke wasn't the only one to pick up on Granny's mood. He knew the woman very well. Something was spooking her, which in turn was spooking Sasuke. He'd never known Sasuke to be spooked over anything. Not even the trial had gotten to him enough for him to show nerves. Shit was happening. Shit Granny wasn't telling them. Whatever it was, it was bad enough for his friends to be paying a heavy price. And it was all this kid's fault. _My kid. Mine's and Sasuke's._

Even after Sakura's examination, and Hinata's observations, a small part of him had continued to believe this was all some mistake. Someone else's fuckup, not his. A misdiagnosis. He definitely believed his body had done _something_, but a baby? It was weird…on the surface he accepted it, talked about it, and bitched about it. Maybe he even thought it was kind of cool how he'd managed to do something like this. But deep down, way deep where none of his grinning bullshit existed, where he was still and alert and where his strength resided, he hadn't accepted it. He'd still been operating on the _idea_ of a baby, of having a family. He'd yet to crossover to thinking about an actual baby and all that entailed.

Sasuke always said there were two sides to him: Dumb Naruto and Serious Naruto. Dumb him hadn't been fully convinced until his friends had shown up. He'd lost it a bit then, he remembered. Ironically, goofing off with those same friends had sort of driven it from his mind again. Things had been almost normal. It was his serious side that hadn't really accepted the fact that he'd gotten pregnant. The last shred of sanity left in him. The dumb side of him could bemoan his misfortune all it wanted, the _real_ him had still been waiting for proof.

But then Sasuke, ever the genius, finally figured out how it could be done and suddenly it wasn't all that far-fetched, was it? No longer an idea. _Banbutsu_ _Souzou. _Maybe. The point was, what he'd done wasn't quite so impossible. Not for him. That was the beginning of his real self accepting this mess. And yet he'd _still_ been skeptical.

Granny's latest arrival had done the job of driving the last of his denial away. His friends had been threatened with just about the worst consequences imaginable for a shinobi. Had been _taken_ from him. And Granny was scared. That much he could tell. The woman he knew feared nothing under the sun. Nothing. She was scared now, but even so she was coming through for him. Leaving Sakura and Chouji to take care of him. This, despite whatever shit the council was putting her through. Despite whatever it was she feared. For him. Because he was preggo. Really pregnant with some… thing. Something possibly stronger than he was himself. There could be no denying it. Not anymore. It had taken awhile, taken a _lot_, but he finally believed it with every part of himself. He. Was. Pregnant.

Quite calmly Naruto leaned forward and threw up between his knees. Coughed. Choked. Then threw up again. Even when his stomach was empty, he continued to gag. He dry-heaved, his entire body spasming painfully until he felt Sasuke's warm hand on the back of his neck.

-oOo-

"What can I do?" Sasuke asked when it was over. "Just tell me what to do."

Naruto wiped an unsteady hand across his nose and mouth. He looked out at the night, visualizing his guards. "Cloak us. This whole fucking hill. But make it seem as if nothing's out of the ordinary."

Confused, Sasuke followed Naruto's gaze. A second later, he thought he understood. Sharingan appeared as he glanced back at Naruto, who had his eyes closed in concentration, and he sat beside him. "For how long?"

"Long as you can give me. Need to do a little recon."

"Are you sure? You couldn't even run five miles with us the other day. Why don't you tell me what you're planning and I can do it for you-"

"You want to stop right there, Sasuke. Just stop. I'm in no mood for your chest-beating bullshit right now. I'm doing this. I _have_ to do this."

But maybe Sasuke was right. He'd told them that he wasn't a hundred percent, but the truth was that he was a lot worse off than that. If Sasuke expected him to be able to execute Ninjutsu at some later time, he'd be sorely disappointed. As it was, Sage Mode came with difficulty, with so much pain that he had to concentrate on not gagging again. It didn't even come all the way, but it was enough. Enough for him to sense the guards some miles away, and the ones beyond them. He was betting they were sensor types. That, or Hyuuga. Probably both.

So help him, he could feel it. He could feel the kid in him. A son, if Sakura was to be believed, protesting the use he was putting his chakra to. It was hurting them both. He almost relented then, never having been this aware of the thing inside him before. With Sage Mode, he could almost see it. Him. Definitely him. He could sense the baby aware of his awareness. Surprised. Eager. Reaching out for him.

Naruto hastily pulled his mind back. His concentration wavered. Sage Mode slipped away.

He sat for a minute, looking at Sasuke stare into the night with his red eyes. Even now, that frown of worry was planted between his black brows. Everyone was supporting him, doing so much for him, but it was Sasuke who was bleeding with him. Maybe deep down where _he_ lived and breathed he was the one who was worried most of all. _Maybe I'm not the only one scared shitless_.

"I'm sorry," he said thickly. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's okay."

It wasn't. None of this was. His hand found Sasuke's and held it tightly. Sasuke squeezed back without looking at him. "It's done," Sasuke said. "Whatever you're going to do, make it fast. I've never cast a Genjutsu from this far away, so I can't be sure of its efficacy." Sasuke's eyes flicked his way. The merest glance. "What _are_ you about to do?"

He could feel the kid protesting his renewed Sage Mode, but he bore down and shut that tiny awareness out. Shut out the fear that awareness made him feel. "We've been in the dark too long. Sick of people telling us shit. Time we found out some stuff on our own."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Massive apologies for the delay. Had to get myself organized, and settle some personal things.

A bit of a warning: This fic might violate a few sensibilities. Like I said, it gets pretty rough, for lack of a better term. Hasn't quite gotten there yet, but I'm giving you guys a heads up.

A huge thank you to those who continue to read me, and a special shoutout to those who take the time to share their feedback. **Wlg, Lily, Koda, Maria**, **Hotnerd, Rei**, and **White Fang**- I hope you guys sign in one day so I can respond to you personally!

*Please forgive any typos...

* * *

Chapter 5

The trouble with Sage Mode was that you couldn't really do it unless you had complete peace within yourself. Kyuubi'd disrupted it when he was first learning how, and now it seemed the kid was doing the exact same thing. Which was why it would only come part way. Enough for him to sense natural chakra…and the kid. Lucky for him, he didn't need Sage Mode for what he was about to do. He'd only needed that to sense his surroundings. All he wanted was to use his chakra normally.

But the kid had other ideas.

It wasn't actively denying him, but for the first time Naruto could see, really see, how just about every drop of chakra he possessed went to maintaining the kid. Maintaining his own body through the shifts his organs had needed to undergo. Fueling the continuation of _Banbutsu Souzou_, or whatever he'd done to bring his kid into existence in the first place. Kyuubi chakra was completely taken up, but his own chakra…

The idea of the kid in him, having now verified its existence for himself, made his skin crawl. Even so he tried to think in its direction. _I need it. I need my chakra, goddamnit._

Nothing. Nothing but that blind eagerness at feeling Naruto's awareness. It was…happy. Naruto shuddered. The thing in him had _feelings_. A mind. _Opinions_. God. He felt his stomach trying to rebel again and had to swallow repeatedly. After a few deep breaths, he tried once more.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked. His hand tightened on Naruto's. "You're sweating. If whatever you're doing is too difficult-"

Naruto ignored him. Turned his mind completely inward. Focused as intently as possible on that tiny pulse of awareness in him. He could sense his chakra, sense how the kid needed it too, how he was practically swimming in the stuff. That hyped up eagerness was all over him again. Feeling him out with senses Naruto couldn't interpret. It felt like…butterflies. Something light and feathery touching his mind. As repulsed as he was at the thought of this thing in him, Naruto made himself remember that this was a child. One that hadn't asked to be conceived, and consequently was blameless in all this. He made himself calm down. Made himself still beneath the questing quality of that foreign exploration. He needed his chakra. If letting the kid feel him out accomplished that, then he would just have to suck it up.

And then he sensed the moment, the precise moment that eagerness made the connection between him and the body it lived in. He saw how the kid finally understood that the body he lived in and the mind touching his own were one and the same. The eagerness tripled. Naruto was inundated with a species of glee. It was sharp. And strong, the way the kid probed at him. Grabbed at him. Tried to draw him in.

His disgust grew. Naruto knew right then that he would never accept the kid in him. Accept the fact that it was _in_ him yes. Be okay with it, no. Not if he lived centuries would this situation be anything but absolutely and completely gross.

The kid. Pulling at him. Demanding.

He resisted. And because a healthy dose of resentment for the whole befucked mess rose up in him at that moment, he lashed out. Some mixture of _'Leave me alone/I need my chakra/they will kill you if you don't give me my FUCKING CHAKRA! _For spite he threw in an image or two of some faceless people ripping the kid out of his body and murdering him.

Sasuke watched the way Naruto's eyes flashed red, heard the deep growl issuing from his chest, and winced.

Almost as soon as he sent that image, Naruto felt his disgust shift to himself. _What in hell am I doing, terrifying him like that. Christ, he's just a baby! _As quickly as his anger had come, it left. Guilt and hopelessness swamped him where he sat and he dropped his head in his hands. Sasuke's callused knuckles pressed against his forehead, but he didn't release him. He felt when Sasuke moved closer to him, silent but concerned. Always concerned for him, was Sasuke.

One last effort. He tried again to reach that consciousness, sure that he'd frightened it away permanently. But it was there. Waiting. And, surprisingly enough, unafraid. It met the imagery Naruto had sent with what could only be described as stubbornness. This from a thing no bigger than a tadpole, or so Naruto envisioned him as. He could feel wariness too. From the anger. A tentative outreaching of that awareness again. Naruto let his remorse meet it halfway, and then all he felt was a return of the positive feelings. Happiness that the anger was passed. _We're in danger, _he thought at that happiness. _I need my chakra, I need to protect us-_

Utter stillness replaced the eagerness. No happiness, no eagerness…just an alert stillness. Naruto was still as well, waiting to see what this new thing meant. Then, so faint he could barely feel it, fear. Worry and fear that were quickly escalating. Almost without thinking, Naruto tried to soothe, to tell the kid that he was safe, would always be safe, but he _needed_…_his_…_chakra_. He couldn't be sure, but he thought there was understanding starting to mix with the fear and worry. An effort made to provide what was needed despite the pain it caused.

There was no change in his body that Naruto could detect, but this time when he reached for his chakra, it was there and it didn't hurt _quite_ so bad. Still hurt, but he was able to do what needed doing. He worked fast.

* * *

Those who'd left with Tsunade found themselves popping into being, not in her office, but outside the village somewhere. What was more, there was a wide circle of _kanji_ somehow emblazoned on a patch of bare earth. They reappeared within this circle, surrounded by trees.

A shadow detached itself from the darkness to be revealed as Shizune. Tsunade went to her. "Detection?"

"Negative, Tsunade-sama. But they're starting to get suspicious about why you keep shifting ANBU units to patrol quadrants other than their assigned ones."

"What I do with ANBU is my business. God-willing they'll discover nothing." Here she looked back at the wary cluster of young men and women she'd brought.

To their surprise, the _kanji_ around them faded to nothing. The bare earth became lush with grass again, as if nothing untoward had taken place there. Akamaru leaned down to sniff this occurrence with a curious _chuff_.

Neji separated himself from the group by stepping forward. "I want to speak to my uncle," he told Tsunade. "If you think I'm going to let Hinata face such bullshit charges-"

Tsunade also took a step toward him. "Right now you'll be silent and look to your own welfare by doing what I say. Hinata has made her choice." She challenged him to say another word with her hard stare. When he lowered his eyes in concession, she dismissed him and took a moment to gather her thoughts. Those watching her saw her take a long look around the forest, as if she heard a sound or had sensed someone. When she looked back at them, she seemed to hover over something, some disturbing thought or idea, before she gave a small nod to herself. "I'm going to have to seal you all before I confine you."

This was met with murmurs of confusion. Surprisingly, it was Shikamaru who responded first to this announcement. "I don't like the sound of that, Hokage-sama."

"It's not for you to tell me what you-"

"And considering that I just left my friend in the lurch to save myself –the shame of which I will take to my grave- I really don't like the sound of some seal on top of being incarcerated. Why isn't jail enough?"

Tenten walked up to stand beside him. "What's really going on, Hokage-sama?" Her eyes, like Shikamaru's, were unnervingly direct. All of their eyes were.

"Do you trust your Hokage?" Tsunade asked them sharply. "If not, say so now."

Maybe it was the fact that the forest was so dark. Or maybe it was how they were obviously caught in a situation more dangerous than she'd told them at Naruto's cabin. Whatever the reason, they felt decidedly threatened just then, and none of them felt inclined to answer the question put to them. Their senses were on high alert, their bodies held in the motionless stance of people expecting violence. Akamaru began to growl.

They stared at her for so long that Tsunade felt her skin tighten.

Kiba ran a reassuring hand over Akamaru's back. "I trust Naruto," he said quietly. "And he still trusts you, so." There was a moment of hesitation, but then reluctant agreement from the rest.

"Then trust me when I say this is necessary. If you really have an interest in helping Naruto, this is the way."

Their eyes still weighed her. Still measured the wisdom of trusting her against giving in to their suspicions. But there was no further comment, either amongst themselves or directed at Tsunade, and she began to relax. Until one of them raised a hand.

"What do you mean when you say seal us?" Lee said. "And why wasn't this mentioned back at Naruto's? I don't understand."

Patience gone, Tsunade walked right up to where they stood grouped together. Lee backed down immediately. "The next person to question me will be sent as far away from this village as I can manage. Is _that_ understood?"

Lee wasn't the only one to cringe from her wrath; what they understood was that this was not the Hokage they were accustomed to. This was a woman on the edge, who was steadily being pushed by some force, and who was desperately trying to keep from going over.

She took their silence for assent, and signaled Shizune to help her. "Quickly," she told her as she reached the first person. It was Shino. "I can almost feel them closing in." Again she looked behind herself, as if sensing someone in the vicinity. But then she placed one hand on the back of Shino's head and one over his mouth. Shino jerked and grunted at whatever she did, but she was already moving on to the next person.

Between the two of them, Tsunade and Shizune had them sealed in record time. When it was done, Tsunade stood back and gave an audible sigh of relief.

Naruto's friends, once they'd recovered, gazed at her with varying levels of hostility. Someone muttered 'What the fuck,' but the Hokage either didn't hear or chose to ignore it.

"Now I can speak," she told them. "First and foremost, you have been sealed to prevent knowledge of Naruto's whereabouts being taken from you. Ordinarily this would be enough, but confinement will ensure that you remain under my direct protection. There are some things even the council cannot alter. Yet. I've no doubt they will present me with a means to circumvent my authority in this as well, given enough time. Until then I will do everything I can to protect you. And Naruto."

Shikamaru tried to speak, found that he couldn't, and made a strangled sound of rage as he grabbed his throat. His comrades were showing similar reactions.

"This is almost identical to Danzo's _Juinjutsu_ of Root members," she told them gently. "It will only cease if I or Shizune undo it, or upon our deaths. You cannot so much as say Naruto's name. Or Sasuke's. Nothing whatsoever that touches on their situation. Try to word your questions carefully, so as not to trigger the jutsu. I'm sorry, but it was necessary to protect Naruto."

Tenten spoke with difficulty. "You said you would hand us over to the council. What…will they do to us? An interrogation?"

Tsunade glanced down, her voice dangerously soft. "If you could call it that. The answer to your question is much. They will do much in the name of protecting the village. And to answer an earlier question, I didn't mention this in front of Naruto because if he knew what you were walking into he would have tried to stop me. As it was, I couldn't tell you either just how fraught the situation actually is for fear you'd resist what needed to be done; I wouldn't have let that happen and I sincerely do not want to hurt any of you."

She looked up at them then. Just her eyes. It was then that they all felt the truth: whatever the council was doing to get at Naruto, Tsunade was fighting them just as hard. She may not _want_ to hurt them, but right then they all knew that she would. If she had to. To protect Naruto.

Somehow this whiff of the towering violence in her set them at ease. That such a woman, the Hokage herself, was so firmly in Naruto's corner eased their fears that Naruto was facing this situation with only Sasuke at his back. That the Hokage might be working against Naruto. Thus informed, they straightened their spines and regarded her with a measured increase in respect.

Tsunade sniffed, and turned from them to walk away into the shadows.

Shizune stepped up to replace her. She informed them of the procedure they would be using to re-enter the village. "Under normal circumstances, no one would dare challenge the Hokage, but things are…different…now. The questions you'd be asked at the gate would be nullified by the seal, but you are not to speak to anyone so we'll take an alternate route. Tsunade-sama will keep you in confinement for as long as possible, but when they come for you –and they will- the seal won't prevent them from trying to get the information out of you anyway. There is no known way to break the seal against the caster's wishes, but shinobi have died under attempts. And if, by some unlucky twist of fate, a way around it _is_ discovered… Well. Your loyalty to Naruto would be put to the test."

Their eyes said they wouldn't be failing that test, not as long as they breathed.

Shizune acknowledge their silent promises with a small bow. "Very well. If you'll please follow me?"

-oOo-

Tsunade heard them leaving the area, but didn't turn to join them. Not yet. There was a persistent tingle between her shoulder blades. Someone was out there. She could feel it on her skin, though she couldn't detect the presence with any of her other senses. "Whoever you are," she whispered into the night, "I strongly advise you head back the way you came. In my current mood I will strike first and be damned to asking questions." She waited, feeling her chakra surge at the invisible threat of someone else's chakra close by and in play. "I could almost wish you'd make a move. I'd relish the kill," she said in an even lower voice. "Relish the chance to show you just what pushing me this far will get you."

But she turned and caught up to Shizune and the rest, instead of pursuing whoever had been spying on her. Odds were it was one of the council's men, which meant they now knew she had sealed Naruto's friends. Whatever grace period she'd hoped to have was now gone. They would come for those kids immediately.

-oOo-

Only after Tsunade had been gone for close to an hour did the presence she'd felt unmask itself. He was an old man, bent over a gnarled walking stick. His white hair fell over his face as he hitched his cloak tighter about his stout body. Even so, a shiver went through him. The Hokage was no one he wanted to come up against in his condition. But he did have a mission to be seeing about, so he cautiously made his way toward the village, following the same path the Fifth had taken.

* * *

Hyuuga Hiashi was finishing the last of his meal, alone, when the paneled wall to his right slid open with a quiet hiss. He was immediately on the offensive; his meals were not to be disturbed. This was known by one and all. When no apology was given, he slammed his chopsticks down and reached for his napkin. He was in the process of blotting his mouth as he rose to his feet, intent on giving a verbal set down, but the man who'd breached etiquette so badly already had his forehead to the floor. His words forestalled Hiashi's burgeoning tirade:

"Neji has returned. Hinata-dono has not."

This news stopped Hiashi in his tracks. His voice was low. "Where is she?"

"Unknown. The Hokage has Neji and the others in cells beneath her offices…and she has sealed them."

"_Sealed? _She told us there was an order to imprison our children, but no mention was made of sealing them-"

"That's not all. They have all been stripped of rank, Hiashi-sama. Hinata-dono faces loss of citizenship if she doesn't stand down."

"Stand down from _what_? Where in the Five Nations is my daughter? Who-" Words failed Hiashi in the extremity of his shock. He stood rooted in place as his mind churned. His Byakugan was an almost tangible weight in the room with the force of his anger. "No Hyuuga has ever –ever!- been stripped of rank, much less citizenship," he said when he could speak.

The man stirred, but didn't lift his head from the floor. "Forgive me…but I thought you knew where Hinata-dono was?"

"I know nothing but that she is gone! And that Tsunade went to retrieve her, along with everyone else who left without authorization."

"But Hiashi-sama…I was given to understand that you and the other ruling Jounin were made aware of Naruto's condition. That Hinata-dono has likely gone to-"

"Given to understand by whom? _If_ I was told anything, it was in the _strictest_ of confidence. How do _you_ come by this knowledge?" Hiashi stared at the bowed head with narrowed eyes, suddenly realizing that he didn't recognize the voice speaking to him. A suspicion tightened his chest. "Look at me."

The man hesitated, but lifted his head by slow degrees until he met Hiashi's eyes.

_Well he is Hyuuga, at least. _Hiashi took in the shoulder-length brown hair, the depth of the broad chest, and estimated the man to be no older than twenty, if that. Hardly old enough to be one of the Hyuuga elders. "I have never seen you before," he said slowly. "And yet you are in my house. Who are you? How do you know of Naruto? Where is my daughter?"

Without permission, the man got to his feet. Hiashi's eyes bulged at this insult, but again he was silenced with the man's words.

"Hinata-dono has chosen to follow honor. For this she will be stripped of citizenship, at which point the council will move against her. I heard this from Tsunade's lips myself, Hiashi-sama. I think…I think the Hokage is willing to fight for Naruto, for Hinata-dono and the others as well, but I don't think she can do it alone."

There was more, but this was exchanged silently as the two men regarded each other. A muscle clenched in Hiashi's jaw. After a moment, he gave a tiny nod.

* * *

Konohamaru jumped a mile when a hand shot out of the alley he was passing and clamped over his mouth. For a split second he was too scared to react. By the time he recalled himself and began to fight back, he was being shoved sideways. He fell against a garbage can.

"_Gaaaah_-" His war cry was cut short at seeing his assailant. Likewise, whatever jutsu he'd been ready to lead with fizzled out of his hand. "Boss?" His entire face spread open in surprise. "_Boss!_"

Naruto stepped out of the shadows with a sheepish look. "Not so loud, idiot. Obviously I'm not supposed to be here." His smile softened the reprimand.

Konohamaru stifled an unmanly squeal by clapping both hands over his mouth. Naruto shook his head at him before easing over to the overturned garbage can and sitting down. He looked beat. Sweaty and breathless and just _drained_. Konohamaru glanced at the mouth of the alley, then hurried over. "Holy shit. You okay?"

"Perfect." He looked anything but.

"Where you been?"

"Seriously? You don't know? My student's been slacking."

Konohamaru was torn between shame that he _had_ been slacking a bit, and pride that Naruto would expect nothing less than for him to have dirt on the situation at hand. "Not on purpose. Info's locked down tighter than a fly's asshole, but here's what I got…"

One blond brow quirked at the language, but Naruto concentrated on the stream of words pouring out of his young friend's mouth.

Apparently, the ruling Jounin were in varying states of disbelief over the cause of his absence. Konohamaru had no idea what that cause was, since it was always referred to as 'Naruto's condition', but he plowed on with his report. "Jounin and council are keeping mum about whatever it is that's going on with you, but the rest of the village knows you're missing. That's how they see it, that you've gone missing and your friends went to go find you. And then Granny went to bring them back, though she was supposedly off to some meeting with the ambassador to some place. We all knew your friends dipped without permish, just like we all knew they were in trouble and she was going to bring them back by force if she had to. I heard something about jail. But I _also_ heard that the council was pissed she was going to get them and _that's_ why they were going to be imprisoned. I couldn't get details, but…it sounded like they wanted your friends to pay for what they'd done."

Naruto stared at the mouth of the alley as he methodically shredded a candy wrapper he'd found. "Is that right."

"Yup."

"All they did was support me."

"And the council wants whatever you stole. They want it bad."

"_Stole?_" Naruto's head snapped toward him. "I didn't steal anything!"

"Not according to them," Konohamaru shrugged. "To hear them tell it, you've taken something of 'great value' to the village, something more valuable than you are yourself. A new weapon. They want it. They want you to come back too, but they really want that weapon. Said if you didn't return with it, then other nations might get their hands on it." Konohamaru bounced closer and lowered his voice. "_Neh_…what is it? You can tell me, you know I won't blab." His eyes were shining with excitement.

Naruto felt his blood run cold, but steered the conversation away from that topic. "What are they doing to Granny?"

"_To_ her?" Konohamaru snorted. "As if anyone can _do_ anything to that woman. They've been bitching at her to tell them where you are and she hasn't budged an inch. They're trying to get her…what's the word? Like, when somebody is taken out of office by force? Whatever, they're trying to get rid of her, and she keeps two steps ahead of them at every turn. Just heard she managed to smuggle your friends back into the village, too, and the council is duking it out with her over that as we speak. Trying to enforce an interrogation or some shit. Said she promised to hand the guys over to them, but now she's going back on her word."

Naruto digested that. "And the villagers? You can't tell me they haven't noticed anything going on with Granny and the council? On my way here to you I could swear something felt…off. Something's different."

Now Konohamaru bowed his head. "They think you've been kidnapped. Or worse. They know you're sick. Or some of them think that. Some of them remember seeing you running from the Hyuuga estate? And some other people saw you going to the hospital. There are rumors that Chouji was staying with you and Sasuke, taking care of you. And some restaurant dude said you puked your guts up. Right before people stopped seeing you. Your friends didn't hide the fact that they were looking for you here in the village, but then they clammed up when Granny got in their asses over it. Then next thing you know they were all gone, and everyone thinks they've gone to get you."

"They wouldn't be wrong."

"The council's trying to declare you missing-nin, I think. And Sasuke. I heard something mentioned about that, but no one knows for sure what's up. Just that you left, your friends left, and now they're in trouble. Half the village thinks some major conspiracy is going on."

"Well, they wouldn't be wrong about that either."

"They're not happy about it, I can tell you that. They're ready to fight. But that's mostly Sachi's doing."

"Sachi? The hell is Sachi?" The name was vaguely familiar.

"Oh, you don't know? Some Uchiha came back to the village! Sachi's the girl. Walked in the gates like she owned the place. Demanded to know where Sasuke was. When she found out he was gone, she pitched the biggest fit I'd ever seen…but that was nothing compared to how she got when someone told her Sasuke was taken."

Despite the pain Sachi's identity called up in him, Naruto was fascinated. "She got violent?" he whispered in awe.

"The opposite. It's like the angrier she gets, the quieter she gets. Though she did say some things when Granny told her Sasuke wasn't interested in meeting her. I thought Granny would punch her silly, but she just stood there." Konohamaru was thoughtful a moment. "I don't like her."

"Sachi?"

"Yeah."

"…What's she like?"

This was given due consideration. "She's…friendly. Like, really friendly. With everybody. But it's like you can see her thinking behind her smiles. And actually she's only friendly with people she considers important. Or powerful. She's all sweet and sugary with them, but when I asked her what she wanted Sasuke for, she acted like she didn't even see me. And then I told her you were my mentor, and that we're as close as brothers, and that changed her mind. Now she's all over me, asking if I know where you are, and how long you and Sasuke have been a thing. She's taken over The Society too-"

"The _fuck!_"

"Yeah, man. Made me sick to see it, but she's got them all thinking you've been fucked over by the council and Granny. I'm pretty sure the conspiracy rumors started with her. At any rate, she's got the Society up in arms, and they're recruiting people as fast as they can. Sachi especially. The fact that she's a surviving Uchiha, beautiful, and so dedicated to you and her kinsman -her words- is really starting to sway people. I think the only reason Granny doesn't squash her is because she's got her hands full with the council. But between you and me? I don't think Granny likes her either. And I know for a fact that Sachi can't stand Granny."

Naruto was quiet.

"So…what _is_ wrong with you? And can I see the weapon? If you have it on you, I mean. Do you?"

That almost made him smile. Almost. It really wasn't funny, though. And Konohamaru's palpable readiness to be part of some secret weapon almost broke his heart. _No, it's seeing my village torn apart that's doing that. I should be here. _To Konohamaru he said, "Sorry, buddy. No can do. Nothing's wrong with me either. Just need to take care of something for a bit."

"So why isn't Granny or the council telling people that? If nothing's wrong, why all the secrecy? I mean, aren't you here to set the record straight? You came with everyone else, right? To show the village that you're fine? Which, by the way, I can see is a lie. You look like shit."

"Actually, I came to tell you to keep your ear to the ground for me."

"Like I been doing?"

"A bit more." He outlined what he needed from him as he winced his way to his feet. "It's risky, but you're all I got here."

Konohamaru's eyes were as round as they could go. "_Risky? _Risky, he says! That'd get me executed for treason!"

"You're all I got," Naruto said again. "I know you can do this. Look how well you've done already."

Konohamaru thought to continue protesting, but just then Naruto's knees buckled. He caught himself against the wall with one hand, waited until his vision cleared, then reached down the back of his pants and withdrew a scroll. He held it out.

"What's this?"

"Something Granny gave me."

"You're not looking so good."

"I altered it for my chakra, so it'll come to me if you send it. In case…in case you find anything out-" A coughing fit doubled Naruto over where he stood. Konohamaru held in his yell of fright as he rushed forward to support him. Naruto started to say something else, but he fell to his knees.

* * *

Tsunade slammed her office door with such force that it was reduced to splinters. The council, having just exited, turned from their place in the hall and regarded her with stoic expressions. Her scowl challenged them to say something, anything, but they turned and continued to make their way down the hall, and out of the building.

For just a moment, Tsunade thought she saw a shadow pass the robed council men, as if someone else were in the hall. She stared long and hard, but there was no further movement.

Shizune stood by as her long-time friend stalked to her chair and plunked herself into it. After a minute, she leaned her elbows on her desk and put her face in her hands. "I can't stop them," she said. Her voice was muffled. "God help me, I can tie myself in knots trying to outsmart them, but they will always find a way. Do you know they have Ibiki?"

"No!"

"Snatched him up almost the second he got back to the village. He hasn't broken yet, but it's been a month. I'm sure they think their activities are hidden from me, but I have reason to believe someone's been sent to get his younger brother. I can't let that happen. Nor can I leave Ibiki in their hands, but short of killing the council myself…"

The younger woman was quiet until the stream of muttered profanity passed. While it lasted, Shizune crept around the room, sweeping up bits and pieces of wood. "I thought this council was different," she ventured when Tsunade fell silent. "You vetted them yourself, and said so. That they were honest men."

"And they are," Tsunade sighed. "Were this anyone else, they would be perfectly within their rights to seize control of this situation. But it's _Naruto_. Instead of keeping him under lock and key here, where everyone involved in the decisions on his behalf could keep an eye on him, I smuggled him out of the village. I refused to share that location with anyone. Failed to apprise the council and Jounin of Naruto's progress. Which led to them seizing my files on him and learning of it themselves. This is all my fault. Fitting. I have shouldered all the responsibility, all the knowledge and danger Naruto's condition has brought. "

Shizune stared at her. "_As is your right._ Forgive me, Tsunade-sama, but _you_ are Hokage. The council exists to _advise _you, not subvert you or your decisions. What they're doing is wrong."

"And yet it wasn't wrong to tell them. Shizune, if…if that child has to be put down… If Naruto and Sasuke fight us, if it comes to pass that we _can't_ neutralize the infant, it will take the council as well as the Jounin to see that the right thing is done. For the good of all. I _had_ to tell them."

"But you're hiding Naruto."

Tsunade dragged her hands down her face and sat back in her chair. Her expression was devoid of hope. "They'll hurt him, Shizune. In the name of analyzing what's happening to him, of safe-guarding Konoha's weapon, the last surviving Jinchuuriki. And in the name of possibly acquiring a new weapon. They will hurt him, maybe kill him in their thirst for power while he's so weak. Yes, they are honest men, or they were when they took office, but power corrupts. And I am beginning to believe that the laws by which this village is run were written by corrupt people. The Hokage should have the last word on any major decision, but they are taking that from me. They are the threat, as far as I'm concerned, and yes. I will fight them to my last breath. Naruto is _mine_. _My_ hope, _my_ prayers, _my_ family. I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe."

"Including killing the infant?"

"If it comes to that." She glanced at the open door and frowned. "I've tried, Shizune. During my examinations, with it distracted by Sasuke's chakra. Tried to terminate it. It sliced through my chakra as if it were nothing. Nullified it somehow. All I can do now is see that Naruto's condition doesn't kill him. Try to help him through it. Somehow. His body is maintaining itself, but the _cost_ to him is unthinkable. I've done what I could there. I can't do anymore for him."

"You mean the way you left Sakura and Chouji."

"Yes."

"They're strong, Tsunade-sama, but are they enough? If Naruto is as weak as you say, there is only Sasuke and those two."

"And Hinata. God, but I thought I'd burst with pride at the way she stood up to me. She is who'll see that Naruto is safe. Her and Sasuke."

"Hinata?" The doubt in her voice spoke volumes. "I hardly think she equals Sakura…"

"You need to get out more. Live a little. The girl is in love with Naruto, but no longer blinded by it. I don't think there's anything she wouldn't do to protect him. And there's a nice edge to her since the Jounin exams. I'm not sure what happened, but I approve. The girl's dangerous. And smart. Now that she's finally gotten out of her own way, I expect great things from her. Not equal Sakura? I think she could surpass my protégé if given the right push. And believe me, this qualifies as the right push." She gave a tight nod, as if well satisfied with that idea.

Shizune was still skeptical. "Tsunade-sama, if the boys are in as much danger as you say, and you can't stop the council…what happens? Even with Hinata, I don't think they'll stand a chance if the council moves against them in force. Not with Naruto so-"

Tsunade finally turned her chair so that she faced Shizune over her steepled fingers. "And why do you think I went there like that? Dire portents, doom and danger, a zillion threats? Do you honestly believe I couldn't have handled a bunch of teens? _I? _The council is making me look like a fool, but you wound me. If I wanted to neutralize them and bring them back here against their will, I could have. I could have brought reinforcements, if I wanted. Or sent more ANBU after them. For that matter, I was well aware of their plans to leave the village. Or did you think Sakura accessed those files through her determination alone? No. I orchestrated it. Told the guards around Naruto to let them through. And I went there in that manner for one reason and one reason only. To send a message. Everything I've done has been to send a message."

"A message?" She waited, but Tsunade said nothing more. Just then she became aware of the door, and the fact that the entire conversation had taken place without the room being warded. She gasped. "Tsunade-sama!"

"I know." But she didn't seem upset. On the contrary, there was a small smile on her face.

* * *

Naruto woke disoriented, to a pounding headache, and Sakura leaning over him anxiously. "Sasuke!" she called when he opened his eyes. "He's coming around."

Sasuke thundered into the room and was at Naruto's side, shouldering her out of the way. "Naruto? Talk to me, are you okay?"

"_Guhh_…" Nausea overwhelmed him of a sudden and he almost gagged. Almost bit his tongue in trying to hold it back. The kid. The kid was in pain. _He_ was in pain. Everything hurt. "The fuck happened?"

Sasuke hung his head in relief. "You tell me. You called up those clones, then that massive toad, and sent them…where? I don't know, but the strain on you was ridiculous. I kept telling you to release the technique, but you wouldn't listen. It was like you couldn't even hear me. You were in a trance or something, going on about _Henge_ and I don't know what else. Hinata said your chakra was tangled up with the baby. You finally passed out, and we brought you in here. Are you okay? What happened? _Say_ something!"

"Clones?" He could barely think, his head was killing him so bad.

Sasuke got down on his knees and put his face close to Naruto's. "What do you remember?"

He had to blink a few times in order to think. "The kid. I can feel him."

"What?" His eyes flew to Naruto's stomach. "What…I mean, how? Is he? How is he? Is he okay, is he-"

Naruto was remembering more, though. How touching that mind with his own had felt, how happy the kid had been. He saw that his hand was resting on his stomach and jerked it away, as if he'd touched the kid by accident. He tried to push himself up. Sasuke helped him. "I think I scared him. I didn't mean to, but he wouldn't let go my chakra, and I _needed_ it to-"

It all came back. Just then his clones dispersed and it all came flooding into his mind. The second the jutsu ended, his chakra snapped back in place, and the pain he was feeling faded to a dull throb. His head cleared immediately, and the first thing he did was to make a clumsy check on the kid. He sensed relief from it. Sensed it curling in on itself to lick its wounds.

A rush of protectiveness kicked through Naruto then so that he sat up completely and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Sasuke knelt between his feet and looked up at him. A sound to his right revealed Chouji standing with flour all over his hands, and concern on his face. Sakura stood alertly in one corner. Hinata stood at the foot of the bed, her Byakugan running over him in assessment. Hinata, whom Granny had left as one of his protectors. Some kind of hidden weapon.

He addressed her. "Your dad's going to fight the council for you. I made sure of that." He recalled the things Tsunade had said about her, especially about her feelings for him, and looked away in shame.

Sasuke met his grave eyes. "There's more you're not telling me. What is it?"

Tailing Granny had been a bitch, but worth it. Near the end there, when his chakra was failing him and his cloaking gone to shit, he was almost positive she'd detected him in the hall outside her office. He opened his mouth to say this, but what came out was, "What were you doing out there? While I was passed out? Sakura had to call you."

Sasuke had the grace to blush. "Praying."

"Praying."

"Scared you were dying on me. You and the baby." He looked aside.

Naruto decided to let that pass for now; he couldn't very well say how much that touched him with an audience. "Granny tried to kill it," he said instead. "Tried to kill the kid during her visits here. Heard it from her own mouth, just like you said."

Sasuke shot to his feet, eyes red.

"And she can't. But…it's weird, because I'm pretty sure she said she's pulling for me too. Doing everything she can to protect me, down to sealing the guys so they can't talk about any of this. _And_ putting them in jail."

"What!" Sakura shrieked.

Here, he didn't hold back, but told it all. Everything he could remember Granny saying, as near as he could recall it. Everything except the bit about Hinata. He was quickly losing control as the enormity of what this one kid was doing to his entire life started to hit him. "A-and she said she c-can't hang on, that the c-council will get the b-best of her, but that she left a message here. That she did what she did to send a message." He finally lost it. "The village is ready to rebel against her and the council, _she's_ ready to kill the council, and the council is about to hurt my fiends, and it's all this kid's fault. And what is she doing? Scaring us shitless so she can send fucking _messages! _WHAT MESSAGE IS SHE FUCKING SENDING, SASUKE? HUH? WHAT? THAT I'M RUINING EVERYTHING?" He was on his feet, roaring and kicking the bed on its side before Chouji went and held him in a tight squeeze. Sakura joined them, making soft sounds to soothe Naruto, who sagged in Chouji's arms and went quiet. Hinata, who hadn't moved, shifted her gaze to Sasuke.

Sasuke stood frowning at the floor.

What message? What indeed. Tsunade _could_ have taken them all on without breaking a sweat. Or brought reinforcements. And now he knew that everyone's arrival had been orchestrated from the first. She could have stopped them all from coming, stopped them at any point in time, but no. She'd done none of that. Instead, she'd come here and behaved as if their heads were all on the chopping block and she was just barely able to mitigate all the ungodly wrong they'd done…except their heads really were on the chopping block and she really was trying to help them.

His eyes narrowed as he worked to sift though all the layers of subterfuge. What was her message? He thought about this as he heard Naruto muttering in response to Sakura's soft words. Thought about everything she'd said, everything she'd threatened. The fact that Sakura and Chouji had been left. Pardoned, he presumed. And how Tsunade had been secretly pleased about Hinata's defiance.

Defiance. Fear.

She'd wanted to scare them. Or maybe not all of them. Maybe just him. Chouji and Sakura had their uses, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt certain her performance, her message, had been for him.

And in considering all else that Naruto had said –about the council, and Tsunade being systematically ousted from authority- he was sure that the seal and jail were another message. This one to the ruling Jounin. Naruto had planted his seed in Hiashi; it stood to reason that seed would then be spread to the other parents. Tsunade was recruiting. That Naruto's friends had been used as the catalyst didn't bother him. What bothered him were the lengths Tsunade was going to. Was forced to go to in order to protect Naruto. She'd already tried to kill his son but she was also helping them. Except, it was becoming obvious that she could only help them for so long.

Which brought him back to her message.

She was gathering allies, fighting the council, and prepping for open rebellion. A scared woman, but one not incapacitated in the slightest by that fear. Her message had been received loud and clear, and it was simple:

_Run._


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: A few things:

1. For those who didn't understand it last chap, the clan member talking to Hyuuga Hiashi last chap and the old man following Tsunade were clones of Naruto in Henge. In total, there were three versions of him in the village last chap.

2. Some of you keep expressing concerns over the way Naruto is reacting to his pregnancy. I'm just going to copy and paste something here that I said to one reviewer in PM: _Naruto lacks the pregnancy hormones and the essential female wiring that would soften him toward the creation of life. He doesn't have maternal instincts the way women do. This pregnancy is a gross intrusion to his body. It's the same as if someone showed up at his door and said, "Here. This kid is yours. You have to raise it." Such an abrupt change in his life is going to be met with a certain amount of resentment and resistance. Now consider the fact that he's GROWING this intrusion, and all the ways it's screwing up his body. He'll get used to the kid eventually -in theory- but in the meantime he's still trying to get his bearings. Hence all the many times he's cried so far. It's not hormones. It's rage and frustration and helplessness._

3. Last, a happy thank you to all those who've taken the time to share their thoughts. Happy Fourth of July weekend!

* * *

Chapter 6

They were all looking at him. Naruto, Chouji, and the girls. It came to Sasuke then that he was in charge. With Naruto so incapacitated _he_ was the strongest one present. Whether or not they came through this would be up to him.

He welcomed the burden. This was familiar territory for him, something he could handle. Pursuit, danger, strategy and evasion…this was his comfort zone. His wheelhouse, where he excelled. So, though Naruto peered at him with frightened eyes from the circle of Chouji and Sakura's arms, he himself felt something akin to calm settle over his mind.

"Sasuke," Naruto quavered. "The council's calling the kid their weapon. Theirs. They're going to come for him just like you said." His eyes begged for him to have a solution.

"How long do we have?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know. I told Konohamaru to get word to me if he saw anything."

Sasuke left them in the bedroom and went outside.

-oOo-

He held Mangekyo as he stood at the edge of the hill the cabin stood on, but did nothing just yet. As the wind picked up and gusted around him, it occurred to him that this was also something he was used to: acting on the spur of the moment, without thinking things all the way through. Shit happened, he reacted. Naruto wasn't the only one who was impulsive sometimes. And this right here would be a prime example of him getting ready to do something stupid.

Mangekyo slowly receded as he sank to the balls of his feet. He buried his hands in his hair.

It seemed to him that he hadn't stopped reacting since he'd walked into his kitchen to find Naruto pissed off at him. He'd said the first thing that came to mind when Naruto all but accused him of cheating. Since then he'd been tumbling in Naruto's wake. Swept along by his pregnancy, his hunger, and now Tsunade's plans for them, whatever those were. She'd said they had to leave, so they'd left. She wanted them to run now, and he was about to do that too, all while trying to be there for Naruto and watch out for all the threats he thought he saw. He was floundering. Maybe he'd thought he was in control all this time, but he wasn't. He had no idea what he was doing, what was happening, and now…now Tsunade thought she could manipulate him further.

And if she knew Naruto's friends were coming before they'd left the village, he was willing to bet she knew Naruto had been in the village tonight. Which could very well mean she'd said all that Naruto had heard for the sole purpose of having him fly into hysterics, which would in turn influence him, Sasuke, to follow her desire for them to run. It also meant she thought them stupid enough to see her as being on their side. Which then meant she expected them to keep _her_ in the loop, but be wary of everyone else. Only she was their friend, that was probably another message she was trying to send.

_I can't do this._

He tried, but honestly could not remember another time in his life where he felt so overwhelmed. So…lost. Even when he'd been facing the trial and death…hell, even when he'd known he'd have to find Madara and kill him in order to save himself, he'd felt in control. And it was because he'd had conviction, he realized. Something he believed in with rock-solid faith. When he'd left the village it had been his belief in killing Itachi that had kept him grounded. And when he'd come back, it had been Naruto. Even when Itachi had been his reason for doing everything, Naruto had been in the background. His bane, his challenge, his _other_ obsession. Sometimes he thought a good part of his motivation for going so wrong had been a need to be as different from Naruto as he could be. To escape the pull the guy had on him. To _disprove_ Naruto and all he stood for.

But that was before. He'd long since given up that fight. Naruto was his reason for everything now. Without him he wasn't much. Case in point, Naruto was down and he was just about useless. Drifting from day to day, his actions dictated by Naruto and whatever he was going through at a given hour.

More evidence of him simply reacting.

_That's all I've ever done, my whole life. React. I've never had my own beliefs, my own ideas, my own direction. I'm a follower._

That made him catch his breath. When he brought a hand up to wipe away the sudden sweat on his lip he saw that it was shaking. It was several moments before he could breathe his way through the impending panic attack, but once he'd managed it, he grit his teeth and forced himself to focus.

Follower or not, he _was_ in charge now. Naruto needed him to step up and handle his shit. He was going to be a father. Naruto was in danger. The baby was in danger, and all of that was aside from the fact that the baby itself might be a danger to all of them. _But he's my kid. And if I can't take care of him now, before he's even born, then I have no right to be a father. _The same went for Naruto. If he couldn't carry the slack when Naruto was down, he didn't deserve to be with him.

And last, but by no means least…it was high time he started being his own man. That meant an end to letting events lead him by the nose.

He sat for some time, staring at nothing as a few things came together in his mind. Realizations. Acceptances. Resignations and admissions. When he stood up he felt more in control. _I _can_ do this,_ he thought. _Naruto needs me to do this. _More importantly, he needed to do this for himself.

A quick scan revealed nothing out of the ordinary. There was no sound other than the breeze. The wooded hills were frosted with moonlight, but there was no movement. He breathed deeply, easier in his skin than he could remember being in a long time. Mangekyo came back with a blink of his eyes.

Hinata had given him the precise location of each guard in both perimeters. She was actually able to see farther than Neji and had informed him of a third perimeter about five miles outside the second one. Three concentrated circles of guards, all capable of moving in on him and Naruto whenever the Hokage or the council gave the word.

When he cast the Genjutsu this time, he blanketed the entire area, not just the hill. As far and wide as he possibly could. Far enough to reach that third circle, and to swallow the cabin. He didn't want Naruto or the others asking what he'd done if they felt the amount of chakra he was about to put out. It was an effort. He could feel the strain, like bands pulling at his brain the farther he pushed the illusion. The pain was sharp, but he was relentless. Besides, this was nothing compared to what he was about to do.

Only when he was sure the guards were deaf and blind to the hill did he close his eyes. He took a moment to steady himself. To gather his chakra and concentrate. When he opened his eyes Eternal Mangekyo was firmly in place.

* * *

Naruto accepted the mug of thick potato soup Chouji handed him with a groan of thanks. He was suddenly starving despite having eaten only a few hours ago. "It's the chakra you expended," Chouji explained. "And you threw up a good portion of your dinner. Sasuke told us."

He could only shake his head as he drained the mug. He was tempted to lick it clean. Honestly, he didn't know what he would do without Chouji to feed him. Just remembering Sasuke's cabin cooking made him grimace. Somehow Chouji always had good food prepped and ready to give him. Even as he thought this, Chouji set several plates of meat, rice, and veggies in front of him. Before Chouji could pull his arm back from setting the last plate down, Naruto leaned forward and impulsively kissed his elbow.

Chouji shuffled away, his face red as he tried to hide his grin.

"When Sasuke comes in I'll examine you," Sakura said. She pulled the other chair closer to his and sat. "How are you feeling now?"

"Same as always." He polished off some kind of white sweet potato. "Said I was fine the first three times you asked me. Now that I'm not using my chakra, my body feels back to normal. Or…whatever. How it felt before I did the _Kage_ _Bunshin_. Why?"

"Well…" She searched his face. "For starters, your eyes are red. They've been that way since you made the clones; Sasuke told us what happened out there in detail. Are you accessing Kyuubi?"

Naruto took the time to swallow. "No." Stuffed his mouth with lamb. Chewed thoughtfully. "I still can't sense him at all."

That worried her. She called Hinata over from where she was watching Chouji work. "Take a look at him for me, will you? What's his chakra doing?"

Hinata tucked a sheaf of hair behind one ear as she bent to comply. "That's strange." She squinted at his midsection, then glanced up at Naruto's face. "Can I see your stomach?"

"Huh?"

"Just lift your shirt for me," she said.

He did as he was asked. Hinata's Byakugan intensified at what she saw. Sakura gasped. Chouji's face was serious, but he said nothing. Bracing himself, Naruto glanced down at his abdomen.

Under normal circumstances, the seal was never visible. Not unless his body was stressed, which for him meant operating under chakra exhaustion. That, or calling on reserves when his chakra was gone, the reserves being Kyuubi. And _this_, whatever was on his stomach, wasn't his seal. Not the _Eight Trigrams Seal_ or the _torii_ seal. It was something else. Some fucked up combination of the two.

He didn't understand what he was seeing; his body had been living with the kid for months and his seal hadn't shown. Using his chakra just now had hurt, but there had been enough for him to get the job done. "What's happening to me?"

Hinata's Byakugan faded to normal. "You don't feel any different?"

"_No_. What. Is. Happening? Is the kid all right?"

"I'm not sure. I wasn't really looking at him." She lowered her eyes a moment. "Your seal looks like it's changing? I mean…I'm not well-versed in the practical applications of sealing techniques, but I have done a bit of reading on your seal in particular, and-"

"How did you come by such material?" Sakura wanted to know. "_I've_ certainly never seen any texts regarding it."

"I made it my business to know. In case something like what happened when Pain attacked ever happened again." Hinata's cheeks pinkened, but she remained composed. "Anyway, I know your seal is different now than it was then. I can see that. But now it's…I'm not sure how to describe it. I'd need more time. Further analysis. Are you sure you're all right? You feel normal?"

"Yes." But he sat back in his chair and left off staring at them to frown at the floor a minute. "One of you, I can't remember who, said that the reason I can't sense Kyuubi is because his chakra is being used to fuel this shitfest. And now the both of you are acting all surprised because I'm manifesting Kyuubi traits while being normal. Well, guess what. Kyuubi and his chakra aren't one and the same anymore. I've got his chakra isolated in another part of me, where I can get at it whenever I want to. The kid's been dipping into it all this time without me losing my shit, so that's not what's happening here. What's _happening_ is now he's fucking with Kyuubi directly." He glared up at them. "And _you_ two need to figure out exactly what he's doing since I can't sense Kyuubi at all."

"But-"

Abruptly he stood and flipped the table hard enough for it to crash into the wall on the opposite side of the room. A moment later he went into the bedroom and slammed the door. Sakura flinched.

-oOo-

Sasuke came in a few minutes later and found the three of them standing in a worried huddle. "Where's Naruto?"

Chouji pointed to the bedroom door.

Sasuke started to head in that direction but stopped. "What's wrong?"

Sakura detached herself from the group and came over to him. She noted that his breathing was a bit labored and that sweat stood out on his face, but ignored this. "We need to talk."

* * *

He entered the bedroom quietly. Opened the door slowly, and shut it again just as carefully. For the first few minutes he did nothing but lean against the door and watch the way Naruto prowled around the room. He could see what Sakura was talking about. His eyes dropped to Naruto's hands but he couldn't tell if any claws were present since his hands were fisted. He hadn't seen Naruto like this in years. His eyes went back to Naruto's face.

"Chouji says that's the first time you didn't finish your food."

"Not hungry."

"Another first." He saw the way that last comment elicited a silent snarl and decided to keep quiet.

Finally, Naruto turned to him. His face was a mixture of shame, rage, and determination. An arresting expression. So distracted was he by the complexity of it that he missed what Naruto was saying. "What?"

Naruto walked over until he was right in front of him and held his hands up as if he were about to grab Sasuke's face. He didn't. "I said I…can't…_do_ this. I can't. I just can't."

"Do…what?"

"This!" Naruto flapped his hands at his stomach, careful not to touch it. "This _kid_."

It was the exact same thing he'd thought not thirty minutes ago. "I know," he sighed.

Naruto's agitation seemed to leave him. His shoulders slumped as he stared at Sasuke. "You do?"

"Better than you think." He ducked his head a moment. "I've been here for you, but I haven't _been_ here."

"What? No…yes you have, you've been amazing." He put a hand out to touch Sasuke's shoulder. "Really. You have."

Sasuke disagreed, but let it drop. This wasn't about him. "Want to talk about it?"

Naruto's face went through a slow shift from uncertain to hopeless and back, but he nodded.

If Sasuke needed any proof that he hadn't been taking care of Naruto, that look was it. Naruto was a mess. _So am I. _"Come here."

Naruto let himself be led to the bed, where Sasuke drew him against his side. He held him tightly, squeezing him until the faint tremors he could feel coursing through Naruto subsided. "Tell me."

There was nothing but stubborn, tight-lipped silence from Naruto. Sasuke noticed how oddly he held himself, with his arms and hands well away from his stomach. He rubbed a hand up and down Naruto's arm to let him know that he could wait. That Naruto didn't have to speak if all he wanted was to be held. But hearing him say he couldn't deal with this situation anymore hurt a lot. He felt tears, hot and burning, well up in his eyes and dropped his chin to Naruto's hair. "It's okay," he mumbled. "I'm sorry. Truth be told sometimes I don't think I can take it either. I hate seeing what this is doing to you. Hate knowing I haven't done right by you. If something ever happened to you…if …if I lost y-"

Naruto turned his face into Sasuke's chest and clutched him hard. "No. That's not going to happen. I swear it."

"You don't know that."

"I swear, I won't die on you. I _promise_."

For a while they just sat there, each occupied with morbid thoughts.

"Tell me what you're thinking?" Sasuke whispered. "Please." _Don't tell me you want to kill him.  
_

But when Naruto finally released Sasuke enough to make himself comfortable, he didn't even mention the baby. "You know…I never really considered what I would do if I didn't have the village anymore. If I couldn't live there. It's like thinking about living without my head or something, you know? Impossible. The village is where I belong. Part of my identity. It's _how_ I identify myself. I didn't have a mother or father or anyone to tell me who I was, so the village was those things for me. I think…I think that's why I needed to be recognized by the villagers, and why I want to be Hokage. I feel like I _am_ Konoha, and it's me. Does that sound weird?"

"No." He pressed a kiss to Naruto's temple, aching for the loneliness he'd grown up with.

"Leaving the village for good would be like…I don't know. Killing myself. A part of myself. I don't know what I'd do without the village as my home. It's family, man. My support. I've always had the village when I had nothing else."

"Why are you saying this?" Did he get Tsunade's message too?

"Because when I was in the village tonight it really hit me, just what this kid is doing to my life. I didn't realize until tonight just how much I'm loved. How much I affect the _people_ in my life and the village. I think they see me as being as important as I see the village. Sasuke…they think I've been taken against my will somewhere. Or that I'm off sick. That I'm in danger."

"And how is that different from the actual situation we're in?"

"No, it's more than that. They don't trust Granny. And that bad feeling is spreading. People looked at each other like they didn't trust their neighbors. It's like they don't believe Granny is in charge anymore. I think some of that is the council's doing, and I heard some of it was Sachi's fault too, but the end result is that shit's getting bad over there."

"Worse than what you're telling me?"

Naruto thought back to when he'd been looking for Konohamaru. The shifty eyes. The many unwashed people, some of whom picked fights with perfect strangers just because a person looked at them wrong. Trash in the streets. Chuunin and Jounin ignoring vandalism, the fact of the vandalism itself… He remembered thinking he'd stepped into a nightmare version of Konoha. "Granny's hiding info about me. The villagers are asking and being fed lies. And they know it. And somehow the council is feeding into it, making them hate her more. But people know the council is lying too. Some are loyal to Granny, but the ones who're siding with the council are all against them. It's fucked. The whole thing is fucked. She's trying to protect me, but Sasuke I heard her say they're going to get her. That they got Ibiki. Had him for the past month, doing God knows what to him to get him to talk. She can't stand against them for long. And we're not letting anyone get the kid, so where does that leave us?" He looked up at him.

Sasuke looked down into Naruto's eyes. The red was jarring. "I don't know."

"We have to leave the village, that's what. Permanently. And I don't know if I can do that. It's the kid. He's taking everything away from me, and I just can't do this anymore."

Sasuke swallowed. "So you want to terminate?"

"What? No. Granny said she couldn't anyway. She tried."

"We haven't tried. Maybe Hinata-"

"No."

"Sakura could-"

"I said _no_, okay? God." Naruto suddenly twisted and scooted himself up so he could look Sasuke in the face. "What, you changed your mind or something?"

Sasuke sat up straighter too. "Of course not."

"Then why are you saying that shit?"

"Because you said you can't do this anymore? I mean fuck, Naruto, what am I _supposed_ to think?"

"I don't know."

"Well, what did you mean?"

"I don't _know!_"

"Do _you_ want to kill it?"

"_No_."

"Then what do you _want?_"

"Nothing. I don't know. I just wish it never happened." He flopped back against Sasuke's chest and folded his arms. A second later he snatched his arms apart, as if touching his stomach disgusted him.

Sasuke decided to comment on this at last. "The hell's up with you, not touching your stomach anymore?"

"It's gross."

"Since when?"

"Since I spoke to him."

"Since _what?_" Now he was the one twisting so he could face Naruto.

"Yeah." Naruto shuddered violently and covered his face with his hands. "Oh God, Sasuke, it was so fucking weird!" He peeked over his fingertips and whispered, "He can think! He _understands_ shit!"

Sasuke's eyes were just as wide. He mouthed, "How?"

Naruto's fingertips curled until they pressed against the bridge of his nose. He shook his head. "I don't know. But he seemed really happy to meet me. Like, he understood that I'm his…whatever. His dad." That brought on another hard shudder. Naruto drummed his heels on the bed, protesting the memory.

"Wait. So…when you said you scared him earlier…"

"I didn't mean to. I was mad. He wouldn't give me my chakra. Stupid shit just held onto it, and held onto it, until I told him people would cut him out of me and kill him-"

Sasuke drew back on a gasp, his brows snapping together. "The bleeding fuck you did-!"

"But that wasn't what scared him. It was when I said I needed to protect _us_. He thought I was in danger. That's what scared him. I think that's the only reason he gave it up in the end, even though it hurt him. And I think that's why he's doing whatever he's doing right now. So…so as much as I hate him in me, and as bad as this sitch sucks, I don't want anything to happen to him."

Sasuke's mouth went dry. "Me either. But Naruto you can't speak to him like that, telling him people will kill him. Did he…speak…to you too?"

Naruto nodded. "Kind of. Just that happy garbage. And…I don't know. When I said people might kill him I got the impression he didn't care. Like he was saying 'bring it on.' Granny said he cut through her chakra when she tried to end him. You think he knew that? That she was trying to kill him?"

Sasuke walked closer on his knees, staring at Naruto's stomach. "I hope not. Can he hear us right now? Understand what we're saying?"

"I don't think so." He pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes. "I swear, sometimes I feel like I'm not even in my own body anymore."

"How so?"

Naruto shrugged. "I just feel so fucking _blah_. No chakra, no strength. Like fuck, man, how do regular people do it?" A thought came to him and he gasped. "What if…"

"What?"

"What if, when this is all over, what if I'm not the same? What if I'll never be the same again?"

He hadn't thought of that. The idea of Naruto not being Naruto didn't even compute. In fact, he was finding that a lot of what he'd heard and thought and done tonight was starting to run together in his mind. He couldn't think anymore. It was too much. "You'll always be you."

"But-"

"Naruto." He gently grabbed his face and brought their heads together. Naruto was quiet now, his hands resting on Sasuke's. "I've been fumbling this whole time. I know that. But do you trust me?"

He couldn't see Sasuke's face, forehead-to-forehead as they were, but the feel of him so close was a comfort. Seemed he could never get his nerves to settle down anymore. "Yeah, man. You know I do. And you haven't been fumbling anything."

"I need you to listen to me. Are you listening?"

"Yeah?"

Sasuke pulled back so they were eye to eye. "You're going to be fine. I'm going to make sure of that, okay? No matter what. I will do whatever I have to, to make sure you and the baby are safe. Do you believe me?"

Naruto nodded. His eyes were steady on Sasuke's.

"Good. That's good." He placed a quick kiss on Naruto's nose before drawing back again. "Do you remember what I said? About me waiting until we knew for sure the council was a danger to us or the baby before I acted?"

Their eyes held as understanding came to Naruto. His eyes went glassy. Again he nodded, the tears falling onto Sasuke's thumbs. "But I don't want to leave my home. Not for good."

"I know. But I also know that you recognize the fact that we just can't stay there anymore. You said so yourself. We have to leave. And when I say leave, Naruto, I mean disconnect ourselves from Konoha completely."

"How?"

"I mean run. Really run. Tsunade already wants us to, but I'm done letting myself be herded into doing what people expect."

"Meaning…what?" Another tear rolled down his cheek.

Sasuke chewed his lip a moment. "You said you trust me."

"I do. But-"

"Completely?"

"What? Sasuke, what-"

"Do you trust me to protect you? Trust me to be enough? For you and the baby? Do you trust me with your life?"

Naruto stared at him for a long time. To his surprise, it wasn't something he could immediately answer. Sasuke thought he was fumbling, but really it was him who was screwed. He was the one coming apart, the one who couldn't admit that yes…a part of him thought about getting rid of the kid somehow. A small part, but there it was. He just wanted his life back. And Sasuke, though he was trying, was scared. He'd been aware of that even when he'd been caught up in his own shit. Scared and directionless. It shamed him to admit that Sasuke had disappointed him in that respect, even if only a tiny bit. He used to think there was nothing Sasuke couldn't do, but now he knew the guy had his limits too. To be asked if he trusted Sasuke with his life was to bring it all into the open. Things he hadn't wanted to think about.

He couldn't bear Sasuke's look anymore. So hopeful. Unsure. Sasuke was never unsure. He lowered his eyes until he was staring at Sasuke's chest.

The scar was faint now, but would never fade completely. Those months they'd spent in the forest came back to him then. How they'd come together after years of orbiting each other. He'd gotten to know the real Sasuke out there. Remembered the things Sasuke had said, things he never would have believed were in Sasuke to say.

'_I'm trusting you, Naruto.'_

Sasuke had trusted him, all right. With his life. And he'd told Sasuke with perfect sincerity that if he couldn't protect him he would leave the village with him. How could he do any less now?

"Yes," he said. "I trust you with my life."

"Are you sure?"

He looked up at Sasuke, looked him in the eye again. Hearing that he trusted him affected Sasuke strongly, he saw. The fear and uncertainty he'd become used to seeing there for the past two and a half months was gone. In fact, Sasuke had never looked surer of himself. "Positive."

"Then you have to trust me when I say this is the only way. I know you love the village, and you trust Tsunade, but sometimes we have to make a choice in our lives. We have to decide when we're going to follow the established path and when we're going to make our own. I never wanted to go back to the village in the first place. It was my home, where I grew up, but that's done. And I _knew_ that. Still, I went back because I wanted you. I believed in you, and I still do, but Naruto…you're wrong about Konoha. It's not the place you think it is, and I don't know if it ever will be again. I was right to stay away. I've made my choice, and it's you. This baby, our family. I never thought I would have any of this after my clan, but now I do. And I will be damned if I'm going to let anyone take that away from me again. Never again, Naruto. I will send this world to hell before I let anyone else I love be taken from me. So you have to trust me. Trust that I'm your home now, and that I'm right. In this, I'm right. Can you do that?"

Spellbound, Naruto said, "Yes."

"And…am I enough?"

Naruto inhaled deeply. "Yes. You're enough."

Sasuke hesitated. "Maybe I'm asking too much. I know I can't replace the village for you, but-"

"Sasuke. I love the village, but you're right. This kid is ours. My mom and dad gave up their _lives_ for me. I can give up the village. With you. If I have you, it's enough. It is."

Sasuke pulled him in for a hug and kept him there. He spoke by Naruto's ear. "I will never let anything happen to you. Never. We can do this."

"I don't know if I can."

"_I_ know you can. And I won't let you down again." He drew back to grasp Naruto's face once more. "Even without your chakra or your usual strength, you're still the strongest person I know."

"Really?"

Sasuke smiled. "Really. We can handle the baby."

Those black eyes were so steady, the smile so confident, that Naruto felt most of the tension he'd been living with, especially that brought on by tonight, drain out of him. He sagged on a broad smile of his own. "We can, can't we?"

"Damn straight. It's fucked up, but we've been through worse, right? Just trust me. I _will_ get us through this. You just concentrate on staying healthy."

It was an unspeakable relief to lean on someone for a change. Especially since the someone was Sasuke. _Never should have doubted him. _How did he forget the way Sasuke had just about torn the world apart in the name of avenging his brother? He'd mellowed out considerably over the last two years, but this was his _kid_. Of _course_ he'd keep them safe. Probably fight God himself to do so. "You have no idea how much I love you right now."

Sasuke leaned in and kissed him. Pulled back, his forehead against Naruto's, then kissed him again. Naruto melted.

-oOo-

It was like some drug they'd been missing. Something they'd been suffering withdrawal from and hadn't even known it. The touch of their lips at once had them calming down and heating up; the troubling thoughts plaguing them evaporated even as their breath quickened and Sasuke yanked Naruto against him. His heart was a hammer in his chest, and he could hear Naruto moaning. Feel his arms crushed around his ribs, feel the hunger they had for each other override their minds as Naruto nipped him repeatedly.

They maneuvered until they were on their sides, facing each other. When the kiss finally ended they were panting. "We haven't done that in forever," Naruto giggled. He felt like his senses were all on high alert. Like he was flying high, without a care in the world. "You smell really good too. Like _really_. Fuck-" He pushed Sasuke to his back and kissed him in earnest.

"The door-"

"Dude? Fuck the door." He pressed kisses all over Sasuke's face as he spoke. "We haven't fucked-" His mouth. "In months-" His neck. "So shut up-" Back to his face. "And nail me already." He flopped onto his back, spread-eagled and waiting.

Sasuke was more than ready. He was on Naruto almost before he'd finished speaking, one hand clenched in the blond hair, the other reaching into his pants to free himself. "I don't even understand how we've gone so long without it." He paused to clamp his mouth over one rosy nipple as Naruto pulled his shirt over his head. "The last time we decided to be chaste we almost broke up."

Naruto flipped to his stomach. "Me either." Sasuke jerked his hips up and pulled his pants down. "I remember that. Before that mission- oh, fuck _yes_. Just like that…"

He gave Naruto's hole one last hard suck before he leaned up and spat on the twitching ring of flesh. "Think it'll hurt him?" He lined his cock up with Naruto's entrance, circling the knob deliciously it.

"Hurt who?" Naruto pushed back, wanting it so bad he had to bite his lip. "God, I am so fucking-

"The baby." He switched to prodding Naruto's balls a moment, before setting his tip back at his hole. "We haven't done it since you got pregnant." He braced his knees farther apart in preparation to ramming home.

Naruto went completely still. Then he groaned, shoving Sasuke aside. "Holy shit, are you kidding me? I actually managed to forget about the kid for five seconds and you just had to go and remind me."

"What? No…I'm sorry. Here, we can still-"

"No." Naruto shook Sasuke's hand off and rolled to the far side of the bed. A moment later he rolled back and reached for him. "Just hold me."

Sasuke did. His body screamed for sex, leaving him sweating and in pain, but he grit his teeth and concentrated on his breathing. "Look…I really am sorry." He stroked Naruto's hair, as much to soothe him as to calm himself down. "I fucked up. _Dammit_. Next time I won't mention him."

"Probably won't be a next time. The thought of fucking with him in me, knowing he can understand crap, is just too much. It'd be like fucking with a third person in the room."

"So never? That's it? Until he's born?" It was a sobering thought.

"I guess. Sorry?"

He hugged Naruto tighter. "Eh, don't worry about it. I'll be fine… Chouji looks like a nice armful. I'll see if he feels 'up' to it."

Naruto reared up to punch him, but stopped when he saw that Sasuke was grinning. "Asshole. I'd kill you, you know that?"

"And I'll die before I want anyone but you. You really think I can't handle a few months without sex?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at him. He tried to hold back his answering grin, but it was no use. "I heard Chouji's interested in Shikamaru anyway."

"You're lying!"

"I swear to God. I think they meet in secret."

They were both laughing now. Sasuke speculated on who topped, and Naruto let loose of bray of laughter so loud his face went red. Sasuke glanced over at him. "Hey."

"Huh."

"Your eyes are blue again."

"They are?"

"Mmhm. Sakura said you think the baby is doing something with Kyuubi, but maybe it was just stress."

"Yeah. Maybe." He appeared to think about it. Then he looked at Sasuke again, his face split in happiness. "Know what else I heard? Ino…"

Sasuke sat back and listened. It wasn't lost on him that Naruto had neatly pushed the prospect of leaving the village to the back of his mind, but that was fine. Let him employ whatever coping mechanisms he needed to employ to get him through the next few months. _He_ had his eyes open now, and he wouldn't be dropping the ball again.

* * *

Sakura pulled Hinata aside about three days after Tsunade's visit. "I'm glad you've decided to let me teach you. The more time passes, the more I feel like something horrible is coming."

"You mean the baby?" They were both whispering, even though Naruto was sleeping in the bedroom, and Sasuke was outside. Chouji was bent to the fireplace, but his back was to them.

"No. I don't know. It's more pervasive than that, more unspecified. Like an itch I can't reach."

"I know what you mean."

"But how _is_ the baby? I can tell he's still growing, still thriving, and that Naruto's still more or less okay, but…" She glanced at Chouji, before leaning closer to Hinata and lowering her voice even more. "He's starting to block me."

"The baby? How?"

"I don't know! But he's starting to become aware of me and what I'm doing. Today it took me way longer than usual to get an accurate read, and halfway through it my chakra just suddenly…stopped."

"_What?_"

Sakura nodded quickly. "I didn't want to say anything in front of Sasuke and Naruto. Whatever talk they had in their room the other day has affected them both for the better. Sasuke seems more certain of himself and Naruto looks as if the weight of the world is off his shoulders. Speaking of Sasuke, when he's not with Naruto, does he seem a bit preoccupied? Sometimes I think he's remembering everything Naruto said. About how much the village is changing, and how Tsunade-sama is fighting a losing battle against the council. I mean, Naruto said they would be coming for the baby, and that they think it's a weapon. That has to screw with your mind, right? You think Sasuke maybe isn't as confident as he seems? That maybe he's really starting to crack under the pressure?"

Hinata frowned in thought. Sasuke certainly was behaving differently, but she didn't know if she'd go so far as to say he was cracking. If anything his preoccupation seemed as if he was focused on something. He sat for long periods of time staring into space when he wasn't with Naruto, his brows knit in concentration. Sometimes he would cock his head sharply, as if hearing something none of the rest of them heard. "I think Sasuke's fine. You can't blame him for a little preoccupation. He managed to get Naruto almost back to his normal self again, despite what Naruto told him. I think he's allowed some time to process." She watched Sakura rub nervous palms down her thighs. "What do you think is going to happen now?"

Sakura shook her head. "Wish I knew. Naruto's vitals are stable, but that baby is getting stronger."

"Isn't it supposed to?"

"Yes, but normally! I mean his powers, whatever they are, are getting stronger. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to examine Naruto without interference."

"What can I do to help?"

"I don't know." Sakura sighed and dropped her head into her hands. "I honestly don't know what Shisou thought _I_ could do here. I have _no_ idea what I'm doing with him. His anatomy, this _pregnancy_, is way outside my knowledge. _Nothing_ is going _remotely_ the way it would with a woman, and that fetus is…God. I can't even say it."

"What?"

"It's terrifying. Hinata…" She picked her head up and fixed the other girl with a stare. "That baby has complete control over Naruto's body. Over his chakra. Naruto's okay because the baby makes sure he is. If he took it into his head to hurt Naruto in some way-"

"Oh God, stop." One hand covered her mouth in horror. "Is that possible? Could that really happen?"

"What's _not_ possible? Certainly not this situation! I've stopped telling myself anything regarding this is impossible. That baby is in him, it's manipulating Naruto's body, and there is _nothing_ I can do about it."

"But Naruto seems fine."

Sakura glared at the bedroom door, as if longing to get her hands directly on the baby. "For now, anyway. And you didn't answer my question. What's going on with the baby? Anything that I didn't detect?"

Hinata redirected her thoughts. "Not sure. Were you aware that the housing cavity's conversion from chakra to tissue is almost complete? I don't know if it's affected his appetite yet or not-"

"It has." Chouji got up from where he'd been fashioning dough into loaves. "Not so's it would be noticeable to anyone but me, but I know how much he eats to within ten or fifteen calories, give or take. He's eating less calorie-dense foods, and his hunger isn't as urgent. No more pellets between meals either. If this keeps up, I think he'll be back to two meals a day in another week to ten days."

"The baby has hair now," Hinata offered when Chouji turned back to the dough. "But beyond that, nothing's changed that I could see."

"What about his seal?"

"Still doing whatever it's doing. I don't know if you've noticed, but I've seen Naruto's eyes red again. Not often, only once or twice. And only for a few seconds. It seemed to happen right before he ate, like when he was hungry? And once right after he woke up one morning."

"Huh. That could mean anything. Sasuke said it was stress, but maybe it's a combination of Sasuke and Naruto's theories. The fetus is doing something to Kyuubi, but Naruto only shows a physical reaction to it when his body's stressed. God, this situation gives me a headache. We're thinking in circles. I can't operate like this, I need facts! Data, concrete information. I feel like I'm performing an unknown surgery in the dark."

"I know. But imagine how Naruto feels."

That shut Sakura up.

* * *

Sakura's premonition of something horrible coming seemed to be taken up by the other people in the house. The next few days saw them each becoming a little tenser, and then a little more as time passed. Naruto's midday meal was gradually replaced by a lengthy nap. Sasuke took him outside after his morning meal, and again after his evening one for exercise, but Naruto came back so irritable that Sasuke stopped doing this. "Makes my whole body ache, just walking down this hill," Naruto grouched. He was happiest whenever he and Sasuke sat and talked of nothing. Chouji received a few looks from them that had Naruto chuckling, but Sakura and Hinata had no idea what that was about. Sasuke still seemed a bit preoccupied, but he was always ready to distract Naruto with conversation. When Naruto was sleeping, he usually hung around the other three.

"No more ideas on his seal?" he asked Hinata when Tsunade's visit was a week in the past. "Last night I thought I saw it glowing."

Chouji looked back and forth between them as he rolled meatballs. "Is that bad?"

Sasuke scratched his chin. "Time was a glowing seal meant imminent manifestation. That was a long time ago, though."

Sakura frowned at the meatballs, lost in thought. Hinata stared at Sasuke, about to ask something, but Chouji interrupted her train of thought. "Is that an issue? Him manifesting here? Because…" he looked around the cabin doubtfully, as if imagining what would happen to the place if such an event occurred.

"Not the way I understand it," Sasuke said. "He has complete control over that chakra. Accessing it no longer means bringing out the demon. In any case, the baby is taking up all of it. But…"

"But?" Hinata prompted.

Sasuke looked at the bedroom door. "I'm sure you've all noticed how much more he's sleeping these days? Those midday naps are almost four hours long now. And I don't have to ask if you've noticed his face. His eyes are red pretty often, and his hair-" Sasuke shook his head and looked at them.

"I did notice the shaggier 'do," Chouji said. "Thought I saw fangs, too."

"His nails are turning," Sakura added. She looked Sasuke in the eye. "And I plain don't want to speculate on what it means for Naruto to be Foxed out like this while perfectly in control of himself."

Sasuke put his elbows on the table, leaning closer as he lowered his voice. "Why?"

"Because." Sakura glanced at the bedroom door too. They all did, as they brought their heads together. "Naruto's not the one controlling his chakra." She explained the theories she had, and went through the conversation she'd had with Hinata. "Think about it. That baby is already doing what it wants. Today…Sasuke, today I wasn't able to examine Naruto at all."

"You told us the baby was fine." His brows were knit in alarm.

"He's healthy enough. I couldn't sense anything wrong with him, but he definitely doesn't like the examinations anymore. I don't think I can examine him again."

Sasuke looked at Hinata and Chouji before returning his gaze to Sakura. "And…what are we supposed to do with that? Will Naruto be all right? Fuck, Sakura-"

"Relax," Hinata said. Her voice was always so calm, so unruffled, that she invariably had the effect bringing both Sasuke and Naruto down whenever they got agitated. "Sakura hasn't been administering medications or performing any type of corrective or stabilizing procedures. All she's been doing is monitoring. Documenting. The pregnancy will continue the same way it's been going, since the baby seems to be directing it. He knows what he needs and seems to make sure he gets it no matter what. The only thing we're doing is feeding Naruto, and Chouji has that covered."

"Right." Sasuke ran a hand through his hair, surprised to feel how long it was getting. "Right. But now what?"

* * *

That was a question answered a week later. By then Naruto was eating his morning meal, and going back to sleep an hour later. He'd wake up about an hour before his evening meal, eat, sit and talk for an hour or so more, then conk right back out. Sasuke was just closing the bedroom door one night soon after Naruto had passed out when a sound had him reopening the door.

He saw nothing out of the ordinary at first. The room was spare, with only the bed in it. Naruto lay sprawled face down in it, his legs and arms spread as wide as they would go. He almost turned to leave again, but something made him move in for a closer look at Naruto.

There, near Naruto's right ear, sat a scroll. It was grubby, as if whoever'd handled it hadn't been too clean, but it was still sending up faint tendrils of smoke from its arrival.

Naruto was dead to the world, he saw. Sasuke plucked the scroll up, glanced around, then opened it.

_Boss,_

_Bad news. First off you owe me for the rest of your life for even getting this info, much less being able to send it off to you. I'm awesome, though, and trained by the best (you) so maybe I'll only make you owe me till I'm old enough to drink._

_Okay, now the bad news. Granny announced to the village that you and Sasuke were off on a major top-secret mission and wouldn't be back for a year. Council went batshit. I overheard them reaming her for doing that, since they told her to announce you as missing-nin. They told Granny to step down under code Fuck-If-I-Know, number whatever-the-fuck. (Can't remember, sorry). Point is, she's not Hokage anymore, one of the council is._

_I can't write more because the village is in uproar. Granny's got all the Jounin behind her, but the new Kage has got ANBU on his side. Also? The new guy, in his first act as Kage, went and denounced Granny for a liar and said you and Sasuke were, in fact, now missing-nin. Gives him and__ his council legit rights to send ANBU and hunter-nin after you, and confiscate anything you're hiding (like that weapon). _I'm fighting with Granny, natch, but the last thing I heard the new Kage say before I hauled ass was for a message to be sent to your guards to close in and put you down hard. They know you're weak. And for some reason, Sachi's been conscripted to assist whoever's being transported to your location in neutralizing Sasuke. I saw them prepping the scrolls as I was blowing the scene, so you got maybe ten minutes after you get this to be gone.

_Oh yeah, before I forget. The new guy said that Chouji and Sakura have a chance to redeem themselves if they stand down when ANBU gets there, but Hinata's been stripped of citizenship. She's an enemy combatant now, and fair game along with you and Sasuke. I think he's just mad because Old Hiashi personally stormed the holding cells and freed Neji. Freed the other guys too, and Ibiki, but his main goal was Neji. And then, as if that wasn't bad enough (dude killed like fifteen ANBU, it was sick) he goes and tells the new guy to his face that Hinata is the pride of the Hyuuga clan, and that if they touched a hair on her head he would hunt them into the afterlife. So, yeah. That happened. New guy's ready to send every Hyuuga ever born into exile.  
_

_We're off. If I die defending Granny's honor, or yours, or whatever the fuck we're fighting for, remember me, _neh_?_

_Love you, Boss._

_K._

Before Sasuke did anything else, he sent a clone outside to cloak the hill with Genjutsu. Only when that was done did he allow himself to breathe.

The urge to run was overwhelming, but he took a deep breath as the scroll rolled shut, and made himself move at a brisk walk. He found Chouji, Sakura, and Hinata already on their feet. They were looking at each other in bewilderment. "What was up with that clone zipping by?" Sakura said.

Sasuke ignored her. "Hinata. Tell me where the guards are."

Something in his face made her access her Doujutsu without question, and turn toward the front of the cabin.

"Oh my God." Her hands were suddenly glowing. "One mile and closing. Sasuke, I'm counting over one hundred and fifty new arrivals."

Sakura was all business, pulling on her gloves. "Is it the council?"

In answer, Sasuke tossed her the scroll.

-oOo-

Once in the bedroom, he lost no time in shaking Naruto awake. He came around groggily, protesting the hand Sasuke had on him until Sasuke took hold of one whiskered cheek and twisted sharply. "Ow!" Naruto bellowed. "The fuck is wrong with you-"

"Konohamaru sent the message. They're coming."

The eyes were blue this time. He stared up at Sasuke for a second, then sat up straighter, looking around. "When?"

"Right now."

"We're leaving?"

"It's the only way I know how to keep you safe. Are you with me, Naruto?"

Naruto felt adrenaline rocket through him. He started to put a protective hand to his stomach, but stopped. Sasuke was looking at him, all but crackling with suppressed energy. "Yeah. Yes."

"I mean it, Naruto. We're not going back. Not in ten years, or twenty, or ever. They've stopped treating us like citizens, hunting us like this. I have no allegiance to Konoha. They've fucked me over for the last time. I need to know you're a hundred percent in this with me."

Naruto licked his lips. Everyone he knew would be left behind. No more Ichiraku's. No more fun with Konohamaru. No more horsing around with his friends, or seeing the monument, or knowing that this was where his parents had lived and died. No more seeing the places he'd used to vandalize, or the places the Third had chased him from. Fuck, no more Granny. No more dream. He'd never be Hokage.

"_Naruto_."

"_Yes_. I'm with you."

Sasuke nodded.

* * *

Out in the main room, every face was grave. Chouji had everything packed in the chest, an enormous sack, and three huge baskets. Sakura and Hinata were on the offensive; they each stood stock still. Hinata stared through the front door, while Sakura stood near the back entrance.

They looked at Sasuke and Naruto as they joined them, waiting for instructions.

"You can't come with us," Sasuke told them. He dropped his and Naruto's packs near the pile Chouji made. "Go back to the-"

"We're not leaving you," Sakura bit out.

"One thousand yards," Hinata said from the front of the room.

Sasuke didn't have time to argue. He set to work carrying the stuff outside, with Chouji's help.

Naruto went to Sakura and put his hands on her shoulders. "You have to go," he said softly. "There's still a chance you guys can save your citizenship. Trust me, you don't want to go up against whatever the council's sending. And I can't take the thought of you guys dying for me."

"Five hundred yards."

Sakura glanced at Hinata's back, but Naruto put a hand to her cheek and gently forced eye contact. "You know I love you guys, right?"

Her face fell apart. Tears splashed onto his wrist, but she nodded.

"So don't try to be a hero. Get back to the village, if you can. Here." He handed her one of the scrolls Granny had given him. "So you can contact me if you have to. Only if you have to."

She threw her arms around his neck. "I love you," she said fiercely. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more." She planted a wet smack right in his ear, then shoved him away.

"Two hundred yards. Moving slowly now."

Sasuke came in. "Naruto, time to go."

For a second they all stood where they were, glancing at each other. But then Sasuke directed them out the back, where two huge hawks crouched at the edge of their hill. Sasuke gave Naruto a hand up onto the one with all their belongings tied to its back. Sakura and Chouji jumped onto the other. "It'll take you to Konoha," Sasuke spoke up at them. "But be careful. This one's not going by reverse teleportation the way mine is. Stay out of sight." He looked around for Hinata.

She was climbing onto the other hawk.

"Hinata-" Naruto watched as she hopped up behind him. "You can't come!"

"He's right," Sasuke said. He landed right next to her. "No one can know where we're going. Hurry up and join Sakura before-"

Hinata turned enough to regard him with her pale eyes. "I'm not leaving Naruto's side. Or yours. And considering that the guards are no more than thirty yards from encountering your Genjutsu do you really want to argue with me right now?"

When he hesitated, her entire body started to glow, her hair lashing about in the agitation of her chakra. "Hang on to something," he snapped.

Naruto turned from this minor showdown at hearing a _whoosh_. The other hawk had taken off, flying at a speed that reduced it to a speck against the moon in seconds. He had no time to comment on this, though, as Sasuke withdrew a scroll and tossed it into the air. It unraveled to such a length that it completely enclosed them, hawk and all. The kanji written on it in Sasuke's hand glowed such a brilliant white that it had them squeezing their eyes shut...and then Naruto felt as if he were being sucked inside out.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Big shoutout to the readers I couldn't reply to: **WLG**, **Lily**, **Koda**, **Maria**, and **Rei**. Some of you are picking on on hints I've been scattering throughout the chapters. That really makes me happy. Means hopefully nothing will come as too great a shock. ^^;

Happy reading!

* * *

Chapter 7

They materialized without the hawk.

Reverse teleportation was a jarring experience under ordinary circumstances. When done by someone other than yourself, Naruto found it to be doubly so. Or maybe it was the kid who had him sagging against Hinata. Whatever the reason, he barely noticed the sense of open space around him, the wind, or the drop in temperature. His entire body went through one long muscle spasm. Hinata had to steady him with both hands as she urged him to take slow breaths.

Their stuff sat in a neat pile behind where they stood. Hinata led him to one of the baskets and made him sit. Seeing as his legs were wobbling, he decided not to belabor the point. He couldn't even see. The sound of a flask being opened came to him and then a cool metal rim was pressed to his lips. He drank deeply.

"Better?" Hinata asked.

Still drinking, he nodded.

Hinata left him to look for Sasuke, who'd staggered off a ways when they'd landed. She saw him standing stiffly, one hand to his face, and moved in his direction.

-oOo-

Sasuke dug a thumb and forefinger into his eyes, trying to squash the headache. It pounded with enough ferocity to have him nauseous, and his entire body vibrating in response. "Naruto?"

Hinata smiled at finding him alert, if currently incapacitated, but saw no reason to point this out. "His body's in such a fine balance that any disruption would likely be catastrophic. Being transported in that manner definitely counts as a disruption so it's probably best if he doesn't go through that again."

"Noted."

"Sasuke…" She took a step closer to him, then cried out as she got a good look at his face. "You're hurt!"

"I'm fine." He tried to turn away from her and nearly sat himself on his ass. Hinata grabbed his sleeve and hauled him back into balance. "Let go of me."

As if she didn't hear him, she coated her palm with chakra and took hold of his chin. His face was forcibly turned to the moonlight so she could inspect the damage. "Eyes and nose bleeding. I'd say that's evidence of ungodly strain; you're far from fine. Let me-"

He forced his hand down from his eyes. "I need to scout the area."

"I will do that."

"_No_. You shouldn't even be here."

Her eyes took on a dangerous glitter. "I get it, all right? You don't like me and you never will, but…but f-_fuck_ you." She gasped at herself, her hand going to her mouth, but when Sasuke angrily swung toward her, she plowed ahead. "This will be the l-last time I argue with you, maybe the only t-time, so pay attention. First off, I noted the speed that other hawk had. You would had to have given it a significant part of your chakra for that to be p-possible. Add to that the job of bringing us here-" she glanced up at the stars, "-a distance probably not located on any map of the civilized world, and I'd say you're operating at about thirty percent capacity right now. This, in addition to whatever drain you've been trying to keep from us for the past two weeks. What did you do the night Naruto sent his clones to Konoha, make clones of your own? How many, two hundred? Five hundred?"

"Three thousand."

"You-!" She calmed herself with an effort. Agitation of any kind was unlike her, but he was really getting under her skin tonight. "As well as the Genjutsu you cast earlier. You'll have to maintain the hawk Sakura and Chouji are on, correct?"

"Not for long. Not at that speed."

"Are you trying to kill yourself?"

"Look-"

"_I'll_ be the one to scout. You're in no condition to use your eyes for a few hours at _least_. Besides which, I'm the one with the long-range sight. I'm _not_ the one who's been systematically expending their chakra over the past two weeks." She saw the mutinous expression on his face and softened her tone. "I'm not saying you didn't do the right thing. You did. But use the resources available to you. If you're really interested in keeping Naruto safe, know when to delegate. I'm not here because of some crush or to hold Naruto's hand. I can be useful to you. Both of you. Use that. Okay?"

"Fine."

"And I-I'm sorry I said f-f…fuck you. That was so mean."

He stared at her.

Uncomfortable, she switched to looking at his leaking nose, before her enhanced eyes skipped up to his forehead. "I see a minor blood vessel ruptured."

Before he could stop her she placed two fingertips on his brow. Her chakra blanketed the sizzling heat in his head to leave his headache greatly reduced and the rest of him drowsy. When she stepped away, he was steadier on his feet. "Thanks."

"Learned a few things from Sakura. Don't split your chakra so many ways over such ridiculous distances next time."

He watched her survey the surrounding area a minute before she disappeared into the night. After another few minutes of trying to remain upright, he lurched around and made his way to where Naruto was sleeping near their things. He told himself that he would verify how Naruto was for his own peace of mind, but instead he found the ground rushing up to meet him.

* * *

It was the cold that woke him. Back in Fire Country, fall had arrived but it had still been warm. This, wherever he was, was downright frigid. Naruto sat up to feel frost crackling away from the blanket covering him. His breath steamed out of him in white plumes, and his nose was numb.

Sasuke lay curled against his back. "Hey." He gave him a shake. "Sasuke."

Sasuke put his cloak over his head, but he didn't wake up. Naruto took the blankets and got to his feet. His limbs were stiff. He felt as weak and brittle as an old man, but he made it a few yards, and peered over the side of a steep shelf of rock.

The piece of land he stood on was unlike any place he'd ever seen. It seemed to consist of a multitude of inlets, cliffs, mountains, and flat open areas. He could see the way the majority of the cliffs and mountains were topped with ice, while others were still a bit green. Others still were covered in the red, browns, and yellows of autumn. As he was standing on one of the higher cliffs, he was able to see the deep blue inlets of water and how they made their way inland. One led toward the base of the cliff he stood on, where it narrowed sharply. Across this strip of water he could see the remains of a simple bridge. At either end of the bridge, where the land was wide and flat, he could see what used to be a village. There were houses on the patch of land the coast offered. Not many, but enough so that he could tell there'd been a community of some kind. Probably a fishing community, if the boats and broken frames were any indication. He didn't see any other villages besides this one. Only the vast blue of the ocean where it stretched past the shoreline and on to the horizon. Everything, village and surrounding land, was covered with a fine layer of snow and ice.

He saw movement on the cliff below him. Hinata, using chakra to navigate the jagged edges as she ran up to him.

She arrived with a little hop and a gust of her white breath fanning out of her. There was a coat he'd never seen her wearing at the cabin, but the hood was down and her hair flew about in a black cloud. Her cheeks were rosy from the wind. "How do you feel?" She was smiling.

"Frozen. The fuck are we?"

"North, would be my guess. Somewhere between seventy and eighty degrees latitude."

As if he knew what that meant. "_This_ is where Sasuke brought us? There's nothing here!" He looked about in dismay.

"Oh, I don't know." She followed his gaze. "I think it's beautiful up here. The air smells so crisp and clean."

"No. There has to be some mista-…uhhh huh. Guhh." Naruto shuddered hard. "Food," he choked out. "What time is it, midday?"

"Nope. Late afternoon. You slept the rest of the night through and most of today. You missed a feeding. It'll be time for your second one soon. Hang on." She went to one of the baskets, but Sasuke was already there, rummaging through it to produce several wrapped parcels of cooked meat and whole baked potatoes.

"It's not a mistake," he said, handing Naruto the food. "Of all the remote places my clones scouted, this was the most contained, while still having the basics to survive. Shelter. A food source. This is the place I chose."

"What food source would that be?" Hinata asked.

"Reindeer. Elk. Herring and other fish. We'll be using the bears and wolves for clothing, I imagine. Some birds live out here too. Geese. Plenty of seal. Some of my clones have dispersed, but the rest of them should be on their way here with anything else we need."

She studied him closely. "You look recovered."

"I am." He produced more food for Naruto when the meat and potatoes were gone, then left him to go sit at the edge of the cliff. Hinata joined him. "What'd you find when you scouted?" he asked her.

"No sign of human habitation anywhere near here. I'm talking over a hundred miles in any direction. This entire island is devoid of human life. Not so much as a single house anywhere but in this little hamlet. You chose well."

He glanced at her. "And you chose to throw your lot in with ours. This isn't about us waiting out the hostilities in Konoha until Tsunade's reinstated; we're not going back. Period. Naruto and I don't have families, but I have to believe your father would have something to say about the 'pride of the Hyuuga clan' vanishing off the face of the world."

She looked out over the water, head tipped to the side. "I still can't believe he stood up for me like that. Or that he broke Neji out of a guarded holding cell. My father just doesn't do those kinds of things."

"I got the impression he was proud of you for standing up to a corrupt agenda." He saw the way her pink face reddened further. "Don't you think he'd be upset to know you've left the village for good?"

"Who says it's for good? Once Naruto's out of the woods, I'll probably go back. Besides, I think my father would prefer me to continue defying the corrupt agenda."

"What do you mean, _probably_? And you'll be questioned. No one can know where we are. No one. I'm not taking any chances with my family's safety."

She looked at him. "Are you threatening me?"

"I don't make threats. I state facts. I'm not letting anyone or anything endanger Naruto or the baby."

"What. So I'm a prisoner here? Or do you plan on killing me?"

He noted in an absent sort of way that her smile was beautiful. He wasn't in the habit of seeing people that way. Most especially not females. And this female in particular was someone he'd had issues with in the past. As far as he was concerned, the hug they'd shared meant nothing. It had been a moment of weakness, nothing more.

It was an unpleasant discovery, finding out that she wasn't always as quiet and invisible as she used to be. He preferred her silences to this spark of life in her. She was right, he just didn't like her. End of story. He was out here with Naruto, and she was a third wheel. Moreover, she'd had the gall to tell him where he could shove his opinions on her presence. And now she was making light of his very real intent to keep their location a secret from the rest of the world, which was a mistake. He _would_ hurt her if he had to.

He got to his feet. "We should get settled before dark."

She stood as well, and followed him toward the things around Naruto. "Something wrong?"

"No."

"You seem annoyed."

He turned on her. "Look, I'm grateful for your help. Really. I am. But don't push it. And don't push me. You don't want to argue over shit? Fine. Then understand that what I say, goes. You might not want to go back, but I don't have to put up with your shit either. Think about that."

Naruto was done eating, and stared at the way Sasuke stormed about their little camp. It bugged him to hear Hinata spoken to like that, but she gave him a reassuring smile when Sasuke wasn't looking. Didn't seem like her feelings were too hurt, so he breathed easier.

-oOo-

Two clones courtesy of Sasuke sufficed to carry everything down the cliff. Hinata followed them, while Sasuke spent a few minutes convincing Naruto that the only way he was getting down to the houses was on his back. "You're not at your best, and you have no control over your chakra right now. Tell me how you plan to get down this incline."

"Climb. For fuck's sake, I'm a trained ninja-"

"Who's currently pregnant."

Naruto did a slow count of five. "…If you tell me I'm pregnant one more time, or even say that word again, I will stab you in the face. There's a kid in me, but I'm _not_ _pregnant_."

Sasuke didn't even blink. "On my back or two more clones can carry you down kicking and screaming. Won't be shit you can do about it, either."

"Threats? Nice. Can you try and appreciate how I feel for a sec, you jackass?"

"Can you try and appreciate the fact that the sooner you get out of this wind and near a fire, the better off you'll be?"

"Maybe I could, if you'd pull your head out of your ass for a minute. The second you decide to step up and take charge you have to be all butch about it? I'm not having it!"

Sasuke looked as if there were many things he'd like to respond with, but held himself back. "Naruto. All I'm asking-"

"Lay off Hinata."

"What-"

"She's given up a lot to be here for me. I know you don't like it, and you might not even like her, but you better shut up and _suck_ it up. Don't gimme that shit about what you say goes, either. We're in this together. As in you don't take advantage of my condition by trying to order me around. You don't treat Hinata like some servant, and you don't deal with whatever you're going through by being a dick. You _talk_ to me. Like you did last night, when you asked me if you're enough. Yes. You're enough. I'm here. I'm trusting you, but don't make me want to punch your face in while I'm at it. Just tell me what the fuck is wrong, God."

Sasuke felt his insides burn. He hated when Naruto was right. "I don't want her here," he muttered. "It's supposed to be just the two of us."

Naruto processed that as he tightened the blanket around himself. "Why? You don't still think she'd try to get with me, do you?"

"What? No. I just don't want her here."

"But she can help. She's smarter than either of us. Well, me anyway. You didn't mind her at the cabin."

"Because Sakura was there. Chouji. They all had each other to occupy themselves with. Now she'll just be in _our_ faces the whole time. It's…" But he had no way to describe how unwelcome her presence was. It was feminine and repulsive and complicated in a way he couldn't explain.

Naruto's puckered brows said he was trying to understand and didn't. "Okay, well she's not the talkative type. I don't think she'll be in our faces at all."

"She got in my face last night."

"And, what? No one can contradict you, ever?"

"No one but you," Sasuke said under his breath.

Naruto cackled outright. "I love it. You're so fucking full of shit, and you're not ashamed to say so. Gimme a kiss."

A smile replaced Sasuke's glower. He caught Naruto up and kissed him long and hard.

"Mmm, gimme another one."

Naruto wrapped the blanket around them both as Sasuke warmed them up with his hot hands and expert lip action. By the time they broke apart, the sun was almost setting. Sasuke stared down at him with all the love in the world in his eyes. "You sure about the fucking?"

"Yuh huh. Too weird. But I almost don't need it with kissing like that, shit."

Sasuke glanced away in embarrassment. Naruto continued to gaze at him, though, until he accepted the praise with a little bow of his head. "You okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Eyes went red."

"Just now?"

"While I was kissing you." Sasuke looked at the wild hair, the longer canines. He found Naruto's hand and brought it up between them so Naruto could see the way his nails were becoming white and hard. "What's up with all this?"

Naruto pulled his hand free. "Don't know. Don't care. I feel okay, so I _am_ okay."

"You've been sleeping a lot."

"Not sleeping right now. You going to carry me, or what? Better not drop me."

Sasuke was used to the evasions whenever Naruto didn't want to discuss something. Taking the bone Naruto threw him, he obediently turned and crouched for him to climb on.

* * *

It was a village that had apparently been in possession of skilled tradesmen; the houses were of superior workmanship, built of stone or wood, and fitted with latticed windows. Many even had wooden shutters to cover the latticework. The house Hinata chose was one of these. It wasn't the largest, but it was in the best condition. A smallish, square structure consisting of two stories.

Sasuke and Naruto entered to find the first floor dominated by one large room. A fireplace took up half of one wall. Behind this room sat a long, narrow kitchen. There was a stone sink here. Things stood in a section of the kitchen that suggested dairy animals had been kept somewhere close by: a butter churn, a cheese press. There were other things in this pantry that they didn't investigate right then. Later. For now, Sasuke opened a trapdoor he found in the pantry floor, while Naruto peered up the narrow stone staircase he found at the other end of the kitchen.

When the inspection was done, they gathered in the main room to compare notes.

"Three sizable rooms upstairs, all with working fireplaces," Naruto said. "Add that to the one down here and it sort of lends weight to this being the coldest corner of earth this side of hell."

"The wood stove in the kitchen works too," Hinata said. "And there's a bathroom with modern plumbing annexed to the house out back."

"Cellar's full of shelves, barrels, and pickling jars," Sasuke added. "The people here must have farmed a bit. Think I saw tanning equipment, too."

Naruto brought up what, for him, was the elephant in the room. "Where're we getting food? Because I'm not eating reindeer or that other shit you said. I want Chouji's cooking."

Sasuke moved to one of the windows and pushed the shutter open. "You'll eat whatever in hell is available," he murmured.

"What was that?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke's back.

"Said my clones have that covered. Like I already said. The ones who are left should be bringing in a few supplies." He turned from the window. "But that won't be for awhile. A few days, maybe a week. In the meantime we have enough raw supplies to last until then."

"But Chouji's not here," Naruto said.

"I am," Hinata spoke up. "I can prepare your meals; I watched Chouji closely. Sakura and I helped him out a lot of times as well. Don't worry." She started to go to him and pat his arm, but a look from Sasuke had her faltering.

Naruto was in a mood to complain, though. "What about blankets? Warm clothes? What are we supposed to sleep on? Where the hell _are_ we?"

"Like I _said_, my clones will bring what we need. What happened to you trusting me?" Sasuke went to his bag and pulled out a map. This he spread out on the floor. "Near as I can figure, we're here." He studied where his finger was pointing while they gathered close to see. "You're right, this probably is the coldest place on earth. We're well within the arctic circle."

Hinata studied the surrounding landforms. Their island was visible as a large mass maybe a hundred miles from an even larger continent. The Five Nations were far down the map. "At these coordinates, the weather will drop drastically by next month. As it is, I estimate the temp now to be around five degrees? We have some daylight hours still, but that will be less and less each day until polar night arrives in December. That's only two months away. The ocean's already starting to freeze. And-"

"Oh, my God," Naruto groaned. "Fuck all that! Look-" he slammed his own fingertip onto the map, nudging Sasuke's aside, "there're no cities here, no anything. Nothing but land, land, land! How are we supposed to survive without people?"

"Same way we did in the forest," Sasuke said quietly.

Naruto was silent for all of five seconds as he stood up. "There's nothing to do here. And it's too cold. And I can't see shit because it's nearly pitch black in here-"

Hinata went to their belongings to search for one of their lanterns, while Sasuke went outside and came back with an armload of firewood they'd seen stacked behind one of the other houses. He dumped this in the fireplace, lit it with a perfunctory _katon_, then turned to face them. "Hinata, give me a minute with Naruto please."

"Of course." She took her lit lantern and disappeared upstairs.

Naruto moved to the fire, whose heat did a stupendous job of warming the room. When they were alone Sasuke said, "All right. It's your turn to tell me what's bugging you instead of biting my head off."

Naruto continued to pace back and forth before the fire, hands on his hips, mouth a tight line. "There's nobody here. _Anywhere_."

"I know. I can't protect us if there's a chance someone will turn us in or come after us themselves. You said I was enough."

"I also said I need to be around people. Do you remember me saying _that_ out in the forest? How is whisking me off to hell on earth going to protect me? You probably just want to keep me isolated so you can have your precious 'wife', and baby, and reenact some kind of fucked up ver-"

Sasuke walked over and punched him. In Naruto's shock, his eyes flickered to blue. Sasuke saw this, saw the way Naruto's face also slackened with dawning horror, but didn't stop to ponder this. He went to where their things were sitting.

Right before they'd left the cabin, he'd seen Konohamaru's scroll in Hinata's hand. He'd also seen, as she'd been defying him on that hawk, the way she'd put it into a side pocket on her pack. The pack now sat with the rest of their things. He jerked the scroll free.

His back was to Naruto when he spoke in a voice that vibrated with insult. "You want to think that, go right ahead. While you're doing that, let me explain something to you. You're gone. Konoha thinks you and the baby are their property, so that means there's a manhunt on for you. A manhunt means other nations will see Konoha looking, figure out why, and start looking for you themselves. Anyone who knows you knows you're not going to sell your loyalties, but if they get wind of that baby, they might really cut him out of you. These are the same people who sell Sharingan and Byakugan on the black market, and God only knows what else. The unnatural issue of a male Jinchuuriki is going to be a prize countries will go to war over, even if it turns out the baby can't do anything. These are people in the business of obtaining advantages over their neighbors however they can, no matter the cost. You're not some faceless ninja, Naruto. Everyone in the Five Nations knows who you are. There are people in minor nations who know your name. There _is_ no place we can go that we'll be safe. I know people. I know how treacherous they are, and what it is to be on the run. To have to hide and constantly be on the move. Konoha will put a bounty on your head when they can't find you, if they're as stupid as they've shown themselves to be so far. But even if they don't, the fact that you're gone will alert people to the fact that Konoha is weaker." Now he turned and pinned Naruto with a glare. "But if you think I'm too stupid to protect you, or that I'm being extreme, here." He tossed him the scroll. "There's your proof."

Naruto read it through three times.

Sasuke studied the down-turned face, waiting for some kind of reply. When he got none he snorted, stalked to the front door, and yanked it open. "I don't care if you like it or not," he said before he went through. "This is where you're safest. What was it you told me? To shut up and suck it up? Maybe you should take your own advice." The door slammed shut behind him.

* * *

He was alone with his thoughts for a long time before he heard Hinata creep downstairs. She sat crossed legged beside him in front of the fire and joined him in staring at the flames. She didn't pry or try to soothe him in any way. Just sat and let him know with her silence that she was there and ready to support him if he needed it. They stayed that way for many minutes.

"I've ruined everything," he whispered.

To her credit, she didn't deny his opinion outright. "How so?"

"War in the village? Granny…de…defoiled?"

"Deposed."

"Yeah, deposed. Some asshole as Hokage? All of that is because of me. All of it. I went and got pre-…got…into a mess. I'm the one who left. And now…" He hefted the scroll in a gesture of utter helplessness, then dropped his face into one hand. "There is a civil war happening in Konoha right now. What the fuck. What the actual fuck, what is _happening_ to my life? My friends could die because of me. And you've been stripped of citizenship. You don't even have a home to go back to now."

Hinata tipped her head, but continued to stare at the flames. "Well," she mused. "It seems to me like you had no control over the…mess. It was an accident. And you left because Hokage-sama told you to leave. She's your Hokage, you're supposed to obey her. And she's your doctor. Or she was. You heeded her medical advice. As for the new Hokage, people in power always want more power. The only truly powerful person I know who never wants more power for personal gain is you. And I guess Hoka…I mean Tsunade-sama, since she's not the Hokage anymore. Maybe a few others, but you're the main one. You're incorruptible. So I know there's no way you could have done something like this deliberately. It's not your fault. You were the catalyst, but you didn't _do_ this. Tsunade-sama did, with her decisions. And…I don't know."

Naruto sniffed as he looked at her. "What?"

"My father always says things happen for a reason. Like the fires that happen in Fire Country sometimes. In the forest? Those happen to clear away dead things so that light and air can reach the seeds beneath the soil. New things grow bigger and better than the old things and it's like this natural cycle of rebirth." She looked at him and found his eyes steady on her face. "Sometimes horrible things have to happen so something good can come along."

"I don't believe that."

"No? Well, look at you. Your parents died, but left an amazing son. Sasuke left, and you became one of the strongest ninja in the world in order to bring him back. He was nearly killed and you two are now closer than you've ever been. What if this baby is the start of something new and good? What if the civil war is? Maybe we just can't see it yet."

"Man. That's how you see me? How you see everything?"

"More or less."

He started to smile, but remembered the things he'd said. "I really pissed Sasuke off."

"That you did. I think you hurt him. He's doing the best he can, you know. And doing it brilliantly. Three thousand clones. To scout the entire unknown world, I'm guessing. Just to find someplace safe for you. That's how much he loves you. You think that was easy? Or that it'll be easy for him to guide the rest of his clones here with enough supplies to last us a few months without arousing suspicions in anyone? I know this sucks for you, but there _are_ other people involved. Sasuke is amazing. I don't know that I could hold up under the kind of pressure he's under. Personally, I think he made the best choice possible in bringing you here. Your situation is still an unknown to us in a lot of ways and containment is key. Just…don't be such a baby about less than perfect conditions, okay? We're both trying to help you." She got to her feet. "And as for me, I think I'll always have a home wherever my father is. I still can't believe he stood up for me and Neji like that." She gestured at the scroll. "Wish I could have seen it."

"What if they catch you? What if you come under interrogation?"

Hinata gave him an odd look. A smile mixed with a frown, as if his question made no sense to her. "I would open my veins if I thought I was a danger to you, Naruto. No one will get information on you from me. That I swear." She turned, scooped up her pack, and went toward the kitchen just as Sasuke came back inside with another armload of firewood. Neither of them said a word.

* * *

He found Sasuke upstairs some time later. Hinata stood in the cramped hall with him, thanking him for the wood. Sasuke grunted a reply as he was turning away. Naruto followed him to the largest of the three rooms and watched as he threw what was left of the wood he'd brought into the fireplace. When this was lit, Sasuke stood and leaned his hands on the mantel.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Naruto stepped out of the doorway, into the room. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I feel tense and angry and… But I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

Sasuke turned to frown at him, but Naruto wasn't done.

"I just I didn't know there weren't going to be any people. I can do the isolation thing, if we have to, but forever? I will lose my mind, Sasuke, I swear to God. And I'm not trying to be difficult. I just know myself. Also…" He looked down at where he was picking his nails. The skin around them was bleeding. "I guess it's hitting me even more now, how real shit is getting. We really left Konoha. We're not talking about it anymore, we've actually _done_ it. This is happening. I –we're- landless. There's no place we belong, no place we can-"

Sasuke was there, this time gripping Naruto's shaking hands with his own. "This can be our land."

"What? No. I mean I know we live here now, but… Look, do you accept my apology?"

"Yes."

Naruto searched his face. "You're completely over the way I bitched at you earlier, aren't you."

Recognizing Naruto's need for closure, Sasuke sighed. "I got bigger shit to think about. Have I forgotten what you said? No. Am I still mad you'd say those things right after telling me I'm enough? Yes. But whatever. I accept that you're sorry, but that only makes _you_ feel better. I don't have an infinite supply of patience, much as I love you. And I don't think you're so far gone that you can't control what comes out of your mouth. So…let's just drop it. Okay?"

"But-"

"_Okay?_"

"…Okay." He dropped his eyes to Sasuke's chest. "Shit, I must really have fucked up for you to punch me like that. Hinata said I was being a baby."

"Hinata," Sasuke said in a tight voice, "said fuck you to me."

"_What?_"

"Nearly swallowed my tongue. Could scarcely credit her with the ability to say it."

"I didn't even know she knew that word." Naruto's eyes were round. Then he grinned. "Think she knows what it means?"

"She's not…unattractive. I'm sure she's acquainted herself with the action by now, or someone's acquainted her with it." Especially since she didn't seem to be as meek as he'd thought. For some reason that bothered him to no end.

Naruto was weak in his laughter, hanging on to Sasuke's shoulders. "Dude…I will bet my dick she's still a virgin."

Which somehow pissed him off even more. "Whatever. Let's try and sleep."

* * *

The next couple of days saw them taking stock. Sasuke inspected the village closely from end to end, on both sides of the bridge, but found no additional supplies to help them. Adequate warmth was a serious issue. There wasn't much more firewood to be had unless he was willing to range far enough to cut some. Clones sufficed for this, but since he was trying to conserve chakra, Hinata sent hers. He and Naruto slept coiled around each other for added heat, but Hinata slept alone. Neither he nor Naruto asked if she was warm enough for fear she'd say no. At that point they would be forced to share body heat, a prospect Sasuke was dead set against.

Food was another issue. What they'd brought lasted all of a day and a half. Hinata went out hunting and came back with not only seal meat, but plenty of the strange geese Sasuke had mentioned. "Caught a massive flock as they were flying south," she said. Both the seal and geese were in such abundance that they were forced to harvest the thickening ice and pack the meat in large barrels down in the cellar.

The weather grew colder by the day. Ice and wind obscured the landscape to a dull white a large part of the time. Sasuke's clones arrived encrusted with snow and heavily laden, but their appearance was welcome. Naruto gave a shout of joy at the fur-lined clothing, especially the moccasins that reached to his knees. Heavy coats and cloaks, also lined with fur, were quickly divided between them. Hinata saw to storing the dozens of sacks of rice, flour, dried milk, legumes, food pellets, and nuts. There were enough nuts and food pellets to necessitate two separate cellars in neighboring houses for each.

Perhaps most welcome was the furniture. There was only one bed, seeing as Sasuke hadn't anticipated Hinata, but there was a comfortable couch he let her have, and several cushy armchairs for the rest of the house. Fur blankets galore, of such thickness that they swallowed a body whole. Pillows. Heavy drapes and shaggy rugs to further insulate them from the harsh climate.

By the middle of their second week there, the house was livable.

-oOo-

Naruto took to sitting in the armchair Sasuke'd placed on their balcony during the daylight hours. He'd slept progressively less during their first week here, until now he was able to remain awake all day. He spent most of the hours between his two meals in deep concentration, absently watching the way the ocean was slowly icing over.

What he thought about, or rather what he was trying to understand, was his body: not only were his naps gone, but he was starting to feel stronger. Coupled with the glimpse he'd gotten of himself in their water supply, it was worrisome. He'd crushed a rock in his hand as if it were stale bread the other day, and the day before that, he'd tried to climb the cliff, slipped, and ended up jumping to the top. Literally. A single bound had taken him from the base of the cliff to the top, and it hadn't taxed him at all. In his natural state he was stronger than average. Much stronger, he knew. But the kind of strength he was starting to exhibit had only ever been present when he'd been Foxing out. As he was doing now, apparently. His seal was still a mess, and his thoughts were still his own, so he was hesitant to label what was happening as truly Foxing. That left him with the all-important question of just what his body was doing. Hence the meditation.

The majority of this self-discovery had taken place while Hinata and Sasuke were away from the village for one reason or another. He didn't want to alarm them. Bad enough _he_ was scared shitless. Maybe he'd tell them later. When he understood what was going on. For now, it was enough that they left him alone to his thoughts.

He was careful not to bring his mind anywhere near the kid. Beyond that, he probed long and deep into his own body.

It was similar to establishing contact with Kyuubi, though he'd never assessed himself like this. Or like entering Sage Mode. It was the process of adopting utter stillness of mind and body in order to open an inner eye. The first few times he did it, he got nothing but a raging headache. But there came a day at the end of the second week when he turned a corner within himself…and suddenly understood so much more.

He felt as if he entered a new world. One where the million different parts of his body and abilities were presented as colors and shapes and nebulous sound. He could hear his heartbeat. The way it was not a simple _lub_-_dub_ sound, but several fluctuating sounds rolled into one. He could feel the blood in his veins. The way his lungs expanded with each breath. Even the miniscule sensation of his cells dividing. The tiny, tiny movement of microscopic organisms in him.

His chakra was like a vast river flowing through it all, powering him as his blood and heart did. He could see the way this river had been diverted, could see the way it was now pooling around the sack of foreign tissue within him. Both his chakra and Kyuubi's.

This was what he'd come for. He studied this with all the attention at his command, analyzing.

If he were completely conscious during this examination, he thought he would be less disgusted and more interested in discovering the way he'd gotten pregnant at last. He could all but see the process his chakra had gone through, and traced it back to the inciting incident that had sparked the whole mess. He didn't know if he could do it again. In fact, he was pretty sure he couldn't, but at least now he could see how it had happened. It was actually…fascinating. _Yin-yang release. Fuck, I don't even know how to do that._

But then he found himself face to face with the Fox. How this came to pass he couldn't say, but he saw immediately what was wrong: The _torii_ seal was almost gone. Which meant Kyuubi was almost free. What would happen when it was remained to be seen, but there could be only one explanation for the seal's erosion.

He turned his mind fully and completely to the kid. What he saw made his hair stand on end.

His heightened senses fed him the information that the kid was sleeping. He had a vague impression of his small body, the way he was curled in on himself. He could see the relatively new addition of some cord on the kid's stomach that ran directly to his body, and that pulsed with life. But he could also see the way the kid's cellular make-up was a combination of him and Sasuke. How the kid took his blood, picked it apart, and used it to…build himself, was the only way he could describe it. Took the DNA he'd gotten from Sasuke and drew things from it that Sasuke himself didn't strictly possess. Much as he was doing with the DNA he harvested from his blood.

Naruto blinked himself to full awareness in a hurry. He was standing, he saw. Hyperventilating, the blanket he'd had around himself fallen to the floor. He stood in the wind and tried to calm his racing heartbeat. Tried and failed.

* * *

Sasuke frowned at the table they'd placed in the main room. It was laden with food, but Naruto was nowhere in sight. "Where is he?"

Of all things, the clones had brought yarn and knitting needles. When Hinata asked about this, Sasuke had refused to comment. She wouldn't quite believe he could knit, but the red on his cheeks had given rise to some wild speculation on her part. She was sitting in one of the armchairs, finishing a second scarf, when Sasuke came in and asked the question. "Upstairs on the balcony, I think."

"He's up there every day, but he usually comes down to eat."

"Have you asked him what he thinks about all day?"

"No. He and I haven't said too much to each other since our first night here. He seems moody."

"I'm worried he's depressed."

"Naruto doesn't get depressed."

"Everyone gets depressed sometimes."

"Not him. He doesn't process things that way. He's what…three and a half, maybe four months along?"

"Three and a half."

"Maybe it's taking a greater toll. Maybe he should take naps again, or-"

"Maybe you should go talk to him."

Sasuke knew a few seconds of such keen violence, watching her calmly knit, that he knew his eyes were red. But Hinata was the one that kept Naruto fed, and sent her clones out to chop wood for fires, so he shut his mouth and headed for the kitchen stairs.

* * *

Naruto blinked, and found himself staring at Sasuke's puzzled face. "Huh?"

Sasuke took a wary step closer. "What happened just now?"

"What do you mean?" He bent and scooped up his blanket. Draped it over his head and shoulders.

"I mean I've been standing here calling your name for at least ten minutes. You wouldn't answer me till just now."

"I didn't see you till just now. You can't have been calling me for ten minutes." He pulled the edges of the blanket around himself as he went into the bedroom. It now had a chest of drawers and a wardrobe, in addition to the bed.

Sasuke followed him. "What were you doing before you saw me?"

"Nothing. Trying to figure out what's wrong with me."

"What's wrong with you? What do you mean, has something happened that I don't know about?"

Resentment, the same resentment he'd started to feel when he couldn't get his heart to calm down, the same resentment that came whenever he thought about the kid too long, or his situation, or just about anything, rose up in him. He turned to tell Sasuke to lay the fuck off him and found both Sasuke and Hinata shouting at him from across the room. The chest of drawers lay in pieces, as if it had been thrown, and Sasuke had a small gash near his eyebrow. They stood as if ready to do battle with him.

"_Naruto_," Sasuke shouted.

"What-" He looked at his hands and saw the nails had lengthened into claws. "What's happening to me?"

"You tell me." Sasuke's voice was far from steady but his face was calm. Naruto knew that face. It was the look Sasuke got whenever he was in a fight and assessing his opponent's strength. "You were gone longer than ten minutes that time."

"I…" But he knew. He knew and supposed he should maybe warn them about it now that he knew. "I think Kyuubi's being released. As in the seal is disappearing."

Sasuke and Hinata gasped.

Naruto sank to the balls of his feet, suddenly drained. "I saw it for myself. The seal is eroding. I can't even repair it. And since Kyuubi's chakra is taken up with the kid, he essentially _has_ no chakra. Which, I guess, is why I'm not sporting tails or anything, just what you see now."

Their eyes ran over his shaggy hair and nails. His eyes had been red during his blackout, but now they were blue again.

"-and I think while I'm…like this…while Kyuubi's so close to the surface, minor shit affects me. Brings him out of me. Like getting angry. That's not all, either." He explained about how much stronger he was feeling.

Sasuke dropped to the bed and put his head in his hands. Hinata finally released her Byakugan to quietly leave the room and return with a damp cloth for the gash on his head. For a wonder, he let her tend him without protest. "So what does this mean?" he asked.

"Means I am so fucking sick of this kid it's not funny. Every time we wrap our heads around something, something _else_ happens to fuck me up."

"But why is Kyuubi being released? You're not doing it, so it has to be the baby, right? Well, why?"

"Do you think I know? Or care, for that matter? Seems his sole reason for existing is to make my life as miserable as possible. I fucking hate him."

"Don't say that-"

"It's true! I hate him, hate him, _hate_ him!"

"Sasuke," Hinata warned in a low voice.

But he'd seen the way Naruto's eyes were turning red again. He brushed her hand aside and slowly got to his feet. "Dinner's ready, Naruto. You hungry?"

Naruto wavered. Whether or not he heard them was anyone's guess. After a minute of glaring at them, he turned and headed for the stairs, though, so maybe he did. Sasuke looked at Hinata.

"What are we going to do?" she whispered.

"I don't know. But I need you to examine him. The baby, I mean. To see what he's doing with Kyuubi."

"I don't think I can. Sakura-"

"Didn't have Byakugan. You do. You won't have to touch him at all. I need to know what in fuck is going on."

"But-"

He rounded on her. "What? Don't be weak now. You stood up to me, you can damn well face him."

His sneer straightened her spine with indignation, but she nodded.

* * *

Naruto sat stuffing his face when they made their way down. He seemed to be in a better mood, but then he was always pleasant while eating. He shoved a huge piece of seal steak into his mouth and turned to them while chewing. "Guys…look. I'm sorry, okay? I'll try and keep a lid on my temper, but I'm not sure I have that much control-" he paused to stuff another bite of food into his mouth, "over the blackouts. Since I'm not the one releasing Kyuubi to begin with." He sopped up gravy with a piece of bread.

Sasuke caught Hinata's eyes and gave her the go ahead with a nod. While she backed away to do her examination, he stepped forward and distracted Naruto from her by saying, "Can't you fight it somehow? He's a baby; you've been housing Kyuubi your whole life, you know the demon better than anyone."

Naruto held up and studied a roast goose leg as he chewed. "Tried. Like…before, while I was meditating, I saw what the kid was doing. With my chakra. Kyuubi's. He's powerful, Sasuke. I may know the demon, but he's doing shit I can't even explain. _Capable_ of shit I can't explain." He devoured half the leg in one bite.

"But you're the one who sealed the demon with the _torii_, right?"

"Yes, technically, but-"

-oOo-

Hinata tuned them out. She was used to seeing Naruto's overloaded chakra pathways, and the baby nestled high up in his abdomen. This time she focused on getting a closer look at the baby, bypassing all the surface data.

He was extraordinarily defined to her eyes. The shape of his features was visible to her, as were each of his digits. His arms and legs were lengthening. In fact, he was growing rapidly now that he was taking food from Naruto directly. If she had her facts from Sakura right, then he was almost fully formed. His spinal cord was completely fused, and his fingers and toes sported tiny nails. All his organs were complete and fully functional. His cranium and all his bone structure was intact. Everything was in perfect working order. All he had to do now was grow.

He sensed her. As impossible as that seemed, she could tell he sensed her looking at him. And when he turned his small head to stare in her direction, she could swear he had-

-oOo-

Sasuke and Naruto turned at hearing her gasp. They saw both hands over her mouth, her Byakugan fading rapidly. "Hinata?" Naruto said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She backed out of the room, searching for an excuse. "It's…I'm…not feeling well."

"Oh." Naruto turned back to his food.

Sasuke frowned at her departing figure until Naruto distracted him.

* * *

He got the full story from her later, when Naruto was asleep. "That's impossible," he said. "I don't believe you."

"Nothing about this is impossible anymore. Sakura was right." She hadn't stopped shaking since her brief examination, though she was otherwise composed. "I know what I saw."

"Then you're wrong."

"I'm not."

"You have to be," Sasuke whispered. He was standing in front of her fireplace. He leaned his head against the mantel now, all but defeated in mind and spirit. "This can't be happening. _How_ is that possible?"

"I don't know. But Sasuke…he looked right at me."

He turned to stare at her. "He…are you sure?"

"Positive. Should we tell Naruto?"

"No. He hates the baby. It's really fear talking, but I don't want him hating the baby even more. If he heard what you're telling me, I think he would."

"Well, what do we do, then? I couldn't see what he was doing with Kyuubi, but I suppose I can take another look." She hugged herself, frightened at the prospect.

Sasuke looked around the room, searching for some way to get a handle on the situation. "All right. Okay. I can't think about that right now. There's nothing I can do about it, but Naruto I _can_ do something about. He's slipping. The more Kyuubi's released, the more he slips. I don't know what's going to happen with him, if this is temporary or what, but what I do know is that he's dangerous." He switched to looking right at her and took a step closer. "I need to know you can handle yourself around him when he's like that. No more cringing like I saw you doing tonight. You stood up to me easily enough, so-"

"You're not as scary as he is when he's…like that. I know what he can do."

Sasuke felt oddly slighted. "My abilities aren't negligible."

"Oh, I know! I didn't mean it like that-"

"Besides, Naruto has no chakra now, so what he can do will probably be limited to displays of strength like we saw tonight. That might increase."

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

And this was why he hated women, he thought. They always made him feel uncomfortable. "Whatever." He turned to leave, but stopped when she called him. If he grit his teeth any harder, he thought they might snap off at the gums. "_What_."

"Do you think Naruto will have more blackouts, more often? Or-"

"Good night." He closed her door behind himself.

* * *

Sadly, her question proved to be a valid point of issue. As November began, and the daylight hours shrank to no more than four a day, Naruto worsened. He was now four months along.

To the discerning eye, his midsection was thicker than normal, but nothing overt. He still had his masculine shape. And now that he was strong enough to do so, he spent a large part of each day out of doors. The sea was completely iced over now. Naruto could be seen running on it on all fours, his claws digging up shards of ice. Or sometimes he could be seen bounding over the cliffs, ecstatic at the range of movement available to him after so long. He was completely unaffected but the increased hours of darkness, while Sasuke and Hinata battled a debilitating malaise as daylight decreased. When Naruto was himself, he couldn't stop yammering about how wonderful he felt, how the worst was finally behind him, and how they could all relax. These were the times his eyes were blue.

But on some days, Naruto's eyes remained red. At those times he prowled around the house, dissatisfied and agitated. He knocked things over, pushed things out of his way, or else sat crouched on top of the house, staring far into the distance.

"It's his second trimester," Hinata confided in Sasuke one day. It was just noon, and the sun was barely rising. It would set again by four. "His first trimester was characterized by hunger and fatigue. This one seems to have him feeling stronger and more alert. He's changing so rapidly…it seems like only last week he was fine."

Sasuke had to agree. "Not only that. I'm just about freezing my balls off, but he doesn't seem to feel the cold anymore. His body's adapting. Warming up. Makes sleeping next to him wonderful, but-"

"But?" Hinata said, trying not to blush at hearing the state of his balls. "What else?"

"I get the feeling he's…watching me sometimes. When I'm out hunting or getting wood, I'll get a feeling that he's close by and watching."

Hinata put down the fish she was cleaning to stare at him. "That sounds like stalking."

"He's…how do I say it? Less aware of us as people, I think? And more aware of us as…strange animals in his territory. He's getting stronger by the day, but the stronger he gets, the less aware he becomes, and the less I sense Naruto is with us. I'll call his name and he won't even respond."

"I've noticed. That's happens to me too, but only when his eyes are red."

"Which is more often than not."

She couldn't argue. "At least he's still eating. That's something."

Sasuke sighed. "But then when he's not losing his mind, he's fine. We'll go running, or even practice Taijutsu, and he's my Naruto. Laughing and joking as if nothing's wrong."

_Yours_, she thought wistfully. "Maybe this will pass soon."

"Maybe."

There were things he didn't mention, though, things he wasn't sure how to voice. It wasn't just that Naruto was stalking him and seemed more aware of him on a baser level. He had a strong sense that Naruto wanted something from him, but couldn't get it. Or didn't know how to get it. He was ready to provide Naruto with anything he needed, if Naruto would voice it. But he didn't even do that. And sometimes when they were asleep he'd wake to feel Naruto pawing and grabbing at him, his nails scratching him painfully. He'd wake, and Naruto's eyes would be blue –as they always were when he woke up- but he never answered Sasuke's question of what was wrong. Only snuggled closer to him and went back to sleep.

-oOo-

He and Hinata were united in their worry. An uneasy camaraderie developed between them as they tried to adapt to the longer nights and Naruto's devolving mental state. Sometimes he found himself thinking out loud, and she would be sitting nearby, listening. Sometimes they speculated on what was happening in Konoha. On what Naruto's pregnancy would throw at them next. On what the baby would be like. Those were times her presence didn't grate on him quite so bad…but at the same time it did. He didn't like being comfortable around her, or how easy it was to talk to her. Yet with Naruto so unresponsive, she was the only human stimulation around. He gravitated toward her out of necessity, and she to him. If he was brutally honest with himself, she was the only thing that made the stress remotely bearable. And that annoyed him further. The fact that she always responded to his sudden temper with forbearance didn't help. It shamed him to admit he wished she'd snap at him again.

There were days he was sure his mind was going out the window with Naruto's.

And it got worse. The more darkness fell on their part of the world, the more they felt as though there was a very real darkness encroaching on their little haven. Naruto barely went out anymore. His eyes were only blue for the few minutes right after he woke up in the mornings, if he happened to sleep on a given night, and he responded to them not at all. He prowled around from room to room, searching for something, or sniffing things. And sometimes he would pick a corner and simply stare at them. His eyes red, his fangs bared, crouched like some waiting beast, ready to pounce on an unsuspecting victim. He ate, but only if Sasuke and Hinata were nowhere near the food when he chose to do so.

Nor did it end there. Before long, Naruto took to going around without clothes. The more feral he'd become, the more his body had warmed, and the less clothes he'd been worn, but now it seemed he had no use for clothes at all. It was unclear if this was because he really was too hot in them now or because he no longer understood clothing and how to put it on. Whatever the case, he was nude and apparently unashamed of being so.

The stalking grew more pronounced. Naruto would be perched on the end of Hinata's couch when she woke up in the mornings, staring at her quietly. Or else Sasuke would be followed to the bathroom and stared at as he did his business. Both of them were followed whenever they left the village to hunt or chop would, or gather ice to melt for water. One or the other of them would look up and find him crouched some distance away, or in a tree above them, or on a cliff overlooking them.

Hinata asked, with admirable aplomb, if she could sleep in Sasuke's room at night; Naruto no longer slept at all and waking to find him hovering over her was starting to frighten her badly. That Sasuke allowed her request somehow made the whole thing worse. He recognized the danger they were in. They began traveling together all the time now, the better to guard each other should Naruto decide to make a move. That all of this was happening as the days grew darker only served to escalate the nightmarish quality of their lives.

Sasuke was pleased to note that Hinata displayed her growing nerves as calm, watchful silence. He knew instinctively that the second either of them showed fear, Naruto would attack. For himself, he went around in a daze of perpetual dread. His muscles remained locked in expectation of violence, and he kept his Sharingan firmly in place. Always on the lookout for another pair of red eyes peering at him from the blackness whenever he was out of the house, or to hear that deep, hungry breathing whenever he was in it.

As difficult as it was for him to believe, they were no longer living with Naruto. Kyuubi was free, and apparently stalking both of them. It remained to be seen just what it was he wanted. That he wanted something was obvious; the prowling agitation, the waiting quality of those red stares…it all pointed to something about to happen.

In the meantime…Kyuubi was toying with them.

Naruto was four and a half months. They'd been in the village six weeks. Sasuke privately thought that if he and Hinata made it through another four months intact it would be a miracle.


End file.
